4 ms·
Why do Americans elect local judges, but not Supreme Court judges?
by isostatic 8y ago
Why do Americans elect local judges, but not Supreme Court judges?
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- WiseWeasel 8y agoIt's a terrible idea either way. People usually vote for local judges knowing only the candidate's occupation (since it's indicated below their name). Doing research on candidates is hard work, especially local ones you can't find on YouTube, and few will consider leaving a choice blank if they don't know who to pick. Supreme Court justices are appointed to lifetime positions specifically to give them the freedom to ignore politics and use their literal best judgment (if they can make it through congressional approval). What kind of supreme judge gets subjected to judgment every few years?
- umanwizard 8y agoSupreme Court judges are not elected because they’re federal judges, and no federal judges are elected. It has nothing to do with how “supreme” they are.
- umanwizard 8y agoThe US has fifty different independent justice systems run by sovereign, independent States. Each of those States has the power to appoint judges in whatever manner it wants, so of course you get some variety. It’s not like “America decided” to have local judges be elected.
- isostatic 8y agoNo, Americans decided (via their states) that they wanted to elect judges. Why? Do you elect teachers? Firefighters?
- umanwizard 8y agoNo, not all States have elected judges. Only some do. I agree that electing judges is idiotic so I'm not sure what you're trying to convince me of.
- jessaustin 8y agoBack when this was originally decided, most Americans did not have the right to vote. It would be nice if we could reconsider decisions like this now that we do have that right, but not only because we could come up with a different way to hire judges...