Idaho Chooses Life

District Judge John Bradbury is challenging incumbent Justice Roger Burdick in the May Primary Election for a seat on Idaho’s Supreme Court.

Bradbury very narrowly lost a similar bid in 2008, challenging Justice Joel Horton in that race. (As you read on … give thanks for the bullet we narrowly missed).

There are interesting – indeed, disturbing – backstories to Bradbury’s quest for higher office.

Part of that story is the very unusual lawsuit he has pending against the Idaho Supreme Court in federal court, because it had the audacity to require that he live in the judicial district over which he presides – a requirement laid out in Idaho Code. It seems Judge Bradbury doesn’t much care to live in Grangeville, and prefers to remain in Lewiston.

After being ordered to move to Grangeville, Bradbury sued the Supreme Court in federal court. Judge Lynn Winmill struck down his lawsuit. Bradbury has an appeal pending before the 9th Circuit.

It seems his back-to-back campaign(s) for the Supreme Court is driven by a mixture of ambition and revenge against the high court. That is a bit disturbing.

What is most important, however, is to realize that Judge Bradbury has a rather long political history.

In the early 1990’s John Bradbury sought a seat in the Idaho legislature as a Democrat. During his first quest in May of 1991, Bradbury wanted a nomination from the Democrat Central Committee. He told his fellow Democrats that he was “pro-Life” on abortion. For whatever reason, he failed to get the seat.

Less than a year later, he challenged incumbent Democrat Representative Chuck Cuddy in a primary. By this time, apparently, his views on the most important moral issue of our time had “evolved”. He was now a “woman’s right to choose” kind of guy.

Bradbury told the Lewiston Tribune (05.15.92), “I personally think forcing women to have children they don’t want won’t stop abortions.” In a later interview (05.23.92), he explained to this same paper that his views had “evolved” to the point where he sought, and earned, the endorsement of “Freedom Means Choice” in that primary election.

On many levels, John Bradbury seems to be a dangerous candidate for the state’s highest court.

Justice Burdick appears to be a temperate, conservatively-inclined member of the court – though we cannot absolutely declare him to be “pro-Life” in his moral and judicial philosophy. All we can say with certainty is that pro-Life Idahoans need to make darn certain that Bradbury does not win a seat on the Supreme Court, packing the ACLU’s agenda under his robes.

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