Thank goodness for conservative judges

Because if it weren't for them, who knows whose civil rights would be violated? Apparently, the poor don't count. According to this article, Michigan's Kent County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Kolenda has "denied appellate counsel to several poor people and stated that he has no obligation or intention of following the Supreme Court's ruling [Halbert v. Michigan] in the future and caracterized the ruling as "incorrect" and "illogical."

Halbert v. Michigan was a Michigan Supreme Court case that struck down a law that prevented judges from appointing counsel to poor people who have pled guilty to appeal their sentences.

Apparently, this trial court judge believes that he's not required to follow the rule of law. Stare Decisis (which is fancy latin for precedence) apparently is up to the individual. If this were a liberal judge, they'd call him an activist; what do you call him when he's conservative, other than wrong?

Source: the Debate Link