American companies “have no interest in the rights of individuals.” This little bit of anti-business bias – courtesy of a Sid Salter column in the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger – wasn’t spewed by Ralph Nader, Bill Lerach or any other well-known corporate haters. It was uttered by Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz.

The question of whether a blatantly prejudiced judge should be allowed to sit on the state’s highest court is one Mississippi voters will have a chance to decide in the next election. In recent years, Diaz has been indicted (but never convicted) on charges ranging from tax evasion to accepting bribes from wealthy trial lawyers.