It’s not often I praise Republicans when it comes
to their positions on issues that affect gays and lesbians.
That’s because it’s not often that Republicans
do anything on gay and lesbian issues that I think deserve
much praise. Lately, however, I’ve found myself
remarking about the courage of two local judges who
took a principled stand that is contrary to their party’s
platform and their party’s leadership. Now standing
on their principles, these two individuals find themselves
alone and taking a tremendous amount of political heat
from their party.
I’m talking about John Sharp Anderson and Paul
Murphy, two Republican judges on the 14th Court of Appeals
who voted to overturn the Texas Sodomy Statute in Geddes
v. The State of Texas. Judge Anderson authored—and
Judge Murphy agreed with—the holding of the court
that the Texas Sodomy Statute violated the Texas Equal
Rights Amendment’s prohibition of discrimination
against individuals based solely upon their sex.
The Harris County Republican Party is rabid over the
ruling. Indeed, it is so rabid that some leaders of
the Republican Party have resorted to behavior that
is defined as criminal in Texas in their attempts to
persuade the judges to reverse their decisions.
Specifically, Chapter 36 of the Texas Penal Code, which
is titled “Bribery and Corrupt Influence,”
states that a person commits a criminal offense by means
of coercion if he or she “influences or attempts
to influence a public servant in a specific exercise
of his official power or a specific performance of his
official duty or influences or attempts to influence
a public servant to violate the public servant’s
known legal duty.” Some members of the Republican
Party are walking a mighty fine line that borders on
illegal coercion in their attempts to have Judges Anderson
and Murphy reverse their ruling.
Indeed, immediately after the ruling, Gary Polland,
the chair of the Republican Party of Texas, began orchestrating
an attempt to have the other 13 Republican Party chairs
that are within the jurisdiction of the 14th Court of
Appeals sign a letter to Judge Anderson demanding that
he reverse his ruling or step down from office. In short,
if he won’t capitulate, then they want him to resign,
so they can appoint someone to run for his seat this
fall.
This blatant attempt to coerce Judge Anderson ultimately
failed when some of the party chairs balked and refused
to sign the letter. Perhaps they realized that it is
improper—if not outright illegal—to attempt
to coerce a sitting judge to shirk his legal duty and
change his opinion.
What’s really shocking about all of this is that
Judges Anderson and Murphy are lifelong Republicans.
Judge Murphy has been on the Court of Appeals for more
than 15 years and has impeccable Republican credentials.
Indeed, it was George W. who appointed him to serve
as the chief justice of the 14th Court of Appeals when
the last chief justice retired.
Likewise, Judge Anderson was elected as a Republican
in 1994, and was unopposed in his bid for re-election
this past March. Quite simply, no one has ever accused
either Anderson or Murphy of being closet liberals or
judicial activists. And as lifelong Republicans, they
were fully aware when they issued their ruling of the
Republican Party’s platform condemning homosexual
conduct.
So, if Anderson and Murphy agreed that the Texas Sodomy
Statute violated the Texas Equal Rights Amendment, they
were obviously fulfilling their legal duty as judges
in interpreting and applying the law as written, rather
than interpreting it to please themselves or the leadership
of their party.
Those leaders in the Republican Party who attempted
to coerce these two judges into changing their opinion
for the sake of politics should resign their leadership
positions. Gary Polland should be the first to go.
Those who refused to sign on to Polland’s misguided
letter should be commended for recognizing the independence
of the judiciary. And Judges Anderson and Murphy should
be praised for doing what they believed was legally
right, irrespective of whether they—or members
of their party—believe it is morally wrong.
