“To what purpose then require the co-operation of the Senate? I answer, that the necessity of their concurrence would have a powerful, though, in general, a silent operation. It would be an excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the President, and would tend greatly to prevent the appointment of unfit characters from State prejudice, from family connection, from personal attachment, or from a view to popularity. . . . He would be both ashamed and afraid to bring forward, for the most distinguished or lucrative stations, candidates who had no other merit than that of coming from the same State to which he particularly belonged, or of being in some way or other personally allied to him, or of possessing the necessary insignificance and pliancy to render them the obsequious instruments of his pleasure.”

In a post titled, “The Most Boring State Ever,” Zach Wendling examines a recent column by the Indianapolis Star‘s Matthew Tully titled “Daniels’ continual controversies good for columnists.”

The Post-Tribune reports, “Gary court may see bailiff on trial.”

A retired Gary police officer working as a city court bailiff could wind up as a defendant in the courtroom where he works.

He faces charges of harassment and intimidation stemming from an illegal traffic stop he made here last month.

The bailiff carries full police powers, courtesy of a deputy commission — one of hundreds — issued by Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez.

But even sworn officers cannot make a traffic stop in an unmarked car while wearing civilian clothes.

Days after Gary City Court Judge Deidre Monroe learned of the Sept. 19 incident, she issued a memo to all her bailiffs reminding them that Indiana law requires officers stopping a driver for a traffic offense must be either wearing an identifiable uniform or be driving a clearly marked police car.

The statute in question is Ind. Code 9-30-2-2 which reads

A law enforcement officer may not arrest or issue a traffic information and summons to a person for a violation of an Indiana law regulating the use and operation of a motor vehicle on an Indiana highway or an ordinance of a city or town regulating the use and operation of a motor vehicle on an Indiana highway unless at the time of the arrest the officer is:
(1) wearing a distinctive uniform and a badge of authority; or
(2) operating a motor vehicle that is clearly marked as a police vehicle;
that will clearly show the officer or the officer’s vehicle to casual observations to be an officer or a police vehicle.

President Bush has nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as an Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court. Here’s the Washington Post profile of Miers and there are transcripts of three “Ask the White House” online chats (here, here, and here) in which Harriet Miers participated. The Los Angeles Times has published an article titled, “Key Facts on Harriet Miers.” At the White House press conference announcing the nomination, President Bush said of Miers, “She has devoted her life to the rule of law and the cause of justice…She will be an outstanding addition to the Supreme Court of the United States.” The Associated Press has more. Initial research suggests her confirmation may not be as tough as initially predicted. Miers was recommended by Senate Minority Leader Herry Reid (D-NV) as a possible pick and in the past Miers has donated to Democratic campaigns, including $1000 to the DNC and $1000 to the Al Gore for President Committee in the 1988 election cycle.

The Rutland Herald today contains an article that begins,

The state of Vermont has sued itself all the way to the Supreme Court.

The Vermont Human Rights Commission wants to investigate whether the Department of Corrections discriminated against an inmate by not accommodating his mental disabilities.

The department is blocking the investigation because it believes the commission has no authority to look into prison affairs.

The Evansville Courier & Press reports today, “Merger gaining momentum: Supporters of city-county consolidation make push for countywide referendum.”

New momentum for a proposed Evansville-Vanderburgh County government consolidation is the goal of advocates who will take action next week both here and in Indianapolis.

On Wednesday, the County Council will become the first local governing body to vote on a resolution in favor of holding a countywide referendum on consolidation. The referendum would be held in conjunction with the November 2006 election.

On Tuesday a group of advocates will meet with the Indiana Local Government Efficiency and Financing Study Commission. You can read more about the Evansville/Vanderburgh Unification Study on its website. Last week I was appointed to the board of the non-profit corporation whose mission is to advocate a Evansville/Vanderburgh merger.

The Dearborn County Register carries an article titled, “Legends of law and landmarks.” It explores and honors the life Tony and Shirley Meyer. The two lifelong Aurora residents were chosen for their contributions to Aurora and Dearborn County through the years, contributions that fit this year’s Aurora Farmers Fair theme: Dearborn County – Law and Landmarks. Among many other things, Tony Meyer is a former Dearborn District Court Judge.

The Government Accountability Office has released its Summary of Estimates of the Costs of the Federal Tax System (GAO-05-878) (32 pages). Here are some findings:

Complying with the federal tax system costs taxpayers time and money. Estimating total compliance costs is difficult because neither the government nor taxpayers maintain regular accounts of these costs and federal tax requirements often overlap with recordkeeping and reporting that taxpayers do for other purposes. Although available estimates are uncertain, taken together, they suggest that total compliance costs are large. For example, combining the lowest available estimates for the personal and corporate income tax yields a total of $107 billion (roughly 1% of GDP) per year. As noted, whether this is a definitive lower bound for compliance costs is uncertain.

The tax system also results in economic efficiency costs because tax rules cause individuals to change their behavior in ways that ultimately leave them with lower-valued combinations of consumption and leisure than they would have obtained if the tax system did not affect their behavior. Estimating efficiency costs is very challenging because the tax system has such extensive and diverse effects on behavior. In fact, we found no comprehensive estimates of the efficiency costs of the current federal tax system. The two most comprehensive studies we found suggest that these costs are large – on the order of magnitude of 2 to 5 percent of GDP each year (as of the mid-1990s). However, the actual efficiency costs of the current tax system may not fall within this range because of uncertainty surrounding taxpayers’ behavioral responses, changes in the tax code and the economy since the mid-1990s, and the fact that the two studies did not cover the full scope of efficiency costs.

The ABA Journal eReport has a piece on a recent ABA-sponsored survey about attitudes toward the judiciary:

More than half of Americans are angry and disappointed with the nation’s judiciary, a new survey done for the ABA Journal eReport shows.

A majority of the survey respondents agreed with statements that “judicial activism” has reached the crisis stage, and that judges who ignore voters’ values should be impeached. Nearly half agreed with a congressman who said judges are “arrogant, out-of-control and unaccountable.”

Former state representative Vaneta Becker was sworn into office on Thursday to replace Greg Server as state senator for District 50. Server was appointed a commissioner with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. The Evansville Courier & Press carries an article on the subject titled, “Becker becomes newest state senator.” Political insiders have suggested to Indiana Barrister that Becker’s move to the Senate allows a more consistent party line voter to fill her spot in the contentious House, where Republicans hold only a 51-49 advantage. Her moderate voting tendencies are expected to be less disurptive to Republican party goals in the Senate, where Republicans hold a solid 33-17 majority.

GOP precinct committeemen in District 78 will determine her successor until the next regularly scheduled election. Those considered frontrunners are Evansville firefighter Frank Vincent, Alcoa engineer Jonathan Fulton, Vanderburgh County Commissioner Suzanne Crouch, Metropolitan Evansville Chamber of Commerce vice president of government relations Steve Schaefer, retired insurance agent Don Mattingly and Warrick County Commissioner Carl Conner. The candidates’ support for city-county unification appears to be one of the most important issues among constituents and commiteemen.