6 ms·

This is the kind of stupidity you get with elected judges.

linuxftw 6y ago
Just Democracy in action here. This is what the people voted for. Unless you believe that the government's power should be limited in some way.
- stx 6y ago
  I don't think people literally voted for the judge to lock up a single mother of 3 girls for 500 days because of unpaid traffic tickets. They voted for a judge because they thought he would be "tough on crime", or some other slogan. I am really speculating here. The reason though is a lack of information on the voters part. I am not sure how we solve that problem though. Judges like this should be put disbarred so that they cant practice law or serve time themselves.
  - linuxftw 6y ago
    > Judges like this should be put disbarred so that they cant practice law or serve time themselves. That's just your opinion, and you're in the minority. Probably most people in that jurisdiction are happy with the overall behavior of the judge. Democracy doesn't care about the needs of the individual, only the wants of the group. The group wants exclusive use of a particular area, thus limits parking. Public streets with reserved parking, the antithesis of a functioning society.
seemslegit 6y ago
Just because someone was elected to a position doesn't mean they should be indismissable for misconduct, in general being able to elect judges is good and democratic it's just that the system has adapted to compensate for that.
jessaustin 6y ago
This position, like most city judges, is not elected. TFA makes this clear: A few months after Judge Hayes’ suspension ended, his term as a municipal judge was set to expire. So, the Montgomery City Council took up the question of the judge’s future on March 6, 2018. On the agenda of its meeting: whether to reappoint Hayes to another four-year term. Everyone on that city council knew, for years, what a terrible judge they had hired. This seems to undercut the idea that appointing judges is some sort of solution to the problem of injustice in USA.
- mcv 6y ago
  Both political appointments and elections are a bad idea. Both make the appointment of judges a political decision.
  - jessaustin 6y ago
    Yes I agree that judges should be selected randomly from the general population of people younger than 35 or older than 65. If that's not what you're thinking, please correct my misunderstanding...
  - justaguyhere 6y ago
    Is there a third option though?
    - mjw1007 6y ago
      This is what's used in the UK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Appointments_Commission https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Appointments_Commissi...
      - twic 6y ago
        It had never occurred to me that any developed country would do anything other than this. Are there any that do? A bit of a survey from the Venice Commission, some sort of gang of euro-judicial boffins: https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/CDL-AD2007_028.pdf https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/CDL-AD2007_02...
        mcv 6y ago
        As far as I know, for the lowest level of Dutch judges, it's a matter of having the right education, some non-court experience, an impeccable legal record and approval from a committee. Judges for the Dutch supreme courts (most countries have several) are appointed by a process involving the supreme court itself, as well as parliament and the government. There can occasionally be some politics involved, but not nearly on the scale as in the US.
pmoriarty 6y ago
The problem isn't that judges are elected, but that it's nearly impossible for voters to make an informed decision. In the last election, I tried to find out about the local judges on my ballot and could find virtually nothing. The media has been neutered in to an infotainment machine, so there's very little investigative journalism left even on issues of national or international importance, much less on small issues like who your local judges are and how they rule.
- justaguyhere 6y ago
  The problem isn't that judges are elected This is definitely one of the problems. There was a study that showed judges were handing stricter sentences for the same crime during election years than non election years ("tough on crime"). Elections are a popularity contest in a way, even well informed voters do not always make rational decisions. If one doesn't have elections to worry about, he/she can do their job to the best of their ability without thinking about pleasing anyone or pandering to any one group, just good old honest work. The moment they have to think about elections, things change. What kind of judge would you like to have - someone who is totally honest and fair without giving a crap about what others think, or someone who is trying to be popular?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - salawat 6y ago
    Yes, because unaccountable lifelong appointed judges works so well in other spheres, yes? Jefferson, Madison, at al feared the Judiciary for a reason. Particularly the Federal tier. Elected judges have a built in check in that they are subject to periodic reaffirmation of confidence from the populace. An appointed judge just needs the right connections once, and to not do anything on such a regular basis that they become the subject of an ethics investigation.
    - justaguyhere 6y ago
      I never said appointed judges are a great idea, especially lifelong ones. I simply said electing judges is a bad idea. I don't know which one is worse. Maybe both are equally bad.
mcv 6y ago
Is it true that all US judges are either elected or politically appointed? Both seem like a terrible idea. I admit I don't know how judges in other countries are appointed, but I think it usually involves a pretty thorough screening process involving several different requirements and organisations.
FpUser 6y ago
No. This is the kind of stupidity one gets when the judges are not controlled and allowed to do as they please. This fscking degenerate judge who put poor woman in jail for so long should be sitting there himself instead of being retired and getting pension.

Just Democracy in action here. This is what the people voted for. Unless you believe that the government's power should be limited in some way.

stx 6y ago
I don't think people literally voted for the judge to lock up a single mother of 3 girls for 500 days because of unpaid traffic tickets. They voted for a judge because they thought he would be "tough on crime", or some other slogan. I am really speculating here. The reason though is a lack of information on the voters part. I am not sure how we solve that problem though. Judges like this should be put disbarred so that they cant practice law or serve time themselves.
- linuxftw 6y ago
  > Judges like this should be put disbarred so that they cant practice law or serve time themselves. That's just your opinion, and you're in the minority. Probably most people in that jurisdiction are happy with the overall behavior of the judge. Democracy doesn't care about the needs of the individual, only the wants of the group. The group wants exclusive use of a particular area, thus limits parking. Public streets with reserved parking, the antithesis of a functioning society.

seemslegit 6y ago

Just because someone was elected to a position doesn't mean they should be indismissable for misconduct, in general being able to elect judges is good and democratic it's just that the system has adapted to compensate for that.

jessaustin 6y ago

This position, like most city judges, is not elected. TFA makes this clear: A few months after Judge Hayes’ suspension ended, his term as a municipal judge was set to expire. So, the Montgomery City Council took up the question of the judge’s future on March 6, 2018. On the agenda of its meeting: whether to reappoint Hayes to another four-year term. Everyone on that city council knew, for years, what a terrible judge they had hired. This seems to undercut the idea that appointing judges is some sort of solution to the problem of injustice in USA.

mcv 6y ago
Both political appointments and elections are a bad idea. Both make the appointment of judges a political decision.
- jessaustin 6y ago
  Yes I agree that judges should be selected randomly from the general population of people younger than 35 or older than 65. If that's not what you're thinking, please correct my misunderstanding...
- justaguyhere 6y ago
  Is there a third option though?
  - mjw1007 6y ago
    This is what's used in the UK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Appointments_Commission https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Appointments_Commissi...
    - twic 6y ago
      It had never occurred to me that any developed country would do anything other than this. Are there any that do? A bit of a survey from the Venice Commission, some sort of gang of euro-judicial boffins: https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/CDL-AD2007_028.pdf https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/CDL-AD2007_02...
      - mcv 6y ago
        As far as I know, for the lowest level of Dutch judges, it's a matter of having the right education, some non-court experience, an impeccable legal record and approval from a committee. Judges for the Dutch supreme courts (most countries have several) are appointed by a process involving the supreme court itself, as well as parliament and the government. There can occasionally be some politics involved, but not nearly on the scale as in the US.

pmoriarty 6y ago

The problem isn't that judges are elected, but that it's nearly impossible for voters to make an informed decision. In the last election, I tried to find out about the local judges on my ballot and could find virtually nothing. The media has been neutered in to an infotainment machine, so there's very little investigative journalism left even on issues of national or international importance, much less on small issues like who your local judges are and how they rule.

justaguyhere 6y ago
The problem isn't that judges are elected This is definitely one of the problems. There was a study that showed judges were handing stricter sentences for the same crime during election years than non election years ("tough on crime"). Elections are a popularity contest in a way, even well informed voters do not always make rational decisions. If one doesn't have elections to worry about, he/she can do their job to the best of their ability without thinking about pleasing anyone or pandering to any one group, just good old honest work. The moment they have to think about elections, things change. What kind of judge would you like to have - someone who is totally honest and fair without giving a crap about what others think, or someone who is trying to be popular?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- salawat 6y ago
  Yes, because unaccountable lifelong appointed judges works so well in other spheres, yes? Jefferson, Madison, at al feared the Judiciary for a reason. Particularly the Federal tier. Elected judges have a built in check in that they are subject to periodic reaffirmation of confidence from the populace. An appointed judge just needs the right connections once, and to not do anything on such a regular basis that they become the subject of an ethics investigation.
  - justaguyhere 6y ago
    I never said appointed judges are a great idea, especially lifelong ones. I simply said electing judges is a bad idea. I don't know which one is worse. Maybe both are equally bad.

mcv 6y ago

Is it true that all US judges are either elected or politically appointed? Both seem like a terrible idea. I admit I don't know how judges in other countries are appointed, but I think it usually involves a pretty thorough screening process involving several different requirements and organisations.

FpUser 6y ago

No. This is the kind of stupidity one gets when the judges are not controlled and allowed to do as they please. This fscking degenerate judge who put poor woman in jail for so long should be sitting there himself instead of being retired and getting pension.