AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Last week, some retired judges took a bus tour through Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan to stress the importance of independent courts. Ohio Public Media's Sarah Donaldson tagged along for a morning.
SARAH DONALDSON, BYLINE: The brown and black coach with the Justice in Motion decal on its side, kicked into drive Tuesday in the Greater Pittsburgh region. By Wednesday, it's idling on a main street in Ohio's capital city, Columbus.
RONALD ADRINE: We all have a dog in this fight, and everybody needs to be concerned about preserving and protecting the rule of law.
DONALDSON: That's Judge Ronald Adrine, who retired from the Cleveland Municipal Court bench after 36 years. He's among several judges and lawyers on this leg of the Justice in Motion tour, organized by two groups - Keep Our Republic and the Democracy Rising collaborative - that say they aim to promote the rule of law. They're concerned about America's increasingly politicized courts. They're holding press conferences, meetings with high school kids and others. Adrine says in Pennsylvania, they were asked whether this trip can make a difference.
ADRINE: And, of course, we have no way of knowing, right? Because, first of all, the thing that needs to happen is that more people need to be aware. There's not a single thing that you can think of that's not touched by the rule of law.
DONALDSON: In Columbus, they walked in their black robes from the federal courthouse to the state supreme court. Former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor brought her dog Carlo along.
O'Connor was a Republican lieutenant governor before her election to the state's highest court. There, she presided over a redistricting case that prompted some Republicans to accuse her of betraying her party. She says she was proud to decide the case like a judge, not a politician.
MAUREEN O'CONNOR: That all has to be left outside of the courtroom.
DONALDSON: The group stressed that they include Democrats and Republicans, but that shouldn't be a factor in an independent court system.
O'CONNOR: Thanks to our forefathers, we are only beholden to the rule of law, not the individual elected officials. And those elected officials come and go, but the rule of law is the same day in and day out.
DONALDSON: In recent years, the state of Ohio has trended the other way. It started noting party affiliation on ballots and elections for higher court judges. The judges on the trip lamented that, saying the oath they take is to the law, not a party.
For NPR News, this is Sarah Donaldson in Columbus, Ohio. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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