Electing Vs. Appointing Justices: A Review of the Debate Term Paper by scribbler

Electing Vs. Appointing Justices: A Review of the Debate
A brief review of the debate concerning elections or appointments of the judiciary.
# 152840 | 921 words | 5 sources | APA | 2013 | US
Published on Apr 30, 2013 in Political Science (State and Local Politics) , Law (General)


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Description:

The paper discusses the arguments for and against judicial appointments versus an elected judiciary. The paper looks at the controversy in Texas and at the support of then Governor George W. Bush for elections for Texas State judges. The paper then presents this author's opinion that while an independent judiciary will not eliminate all corruption, it will get rid of a lot of patronage based corruption that becomes an endemic part of any elected judiciary system due to the narrow groups of cliques that usually make the contributions in such races.

From the Paper:

"There are different standards in different states for the selection of state judges. In some states, judges are elected. In others, they are selected by the chief executive in a manner similar to the federal system. Some have term limitations on how long the judge can serve in office. To understand the development the of the state court structure in the United States, including the selection of judges, evolved at the city or county level within the paradigm of the development of the branches of government (executive, judicial and legislative). Due to the westward expansion of the country from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, the structure of courts and the selection of judges in each state is far from homogeneous (Schauffler, 2007, p. 116). However, most seek to ape the federal government by remaining aloof from partisan politics. Regardless of the funding sources, the control of budgets of the judicial branches makes the notion of judicial independence problematic (ibid, p. 115). Obviously, this augurs against the election of judges due to the perception of patronage and corruption. This is the central problem in Texas: patronage versus the professional aloofness of the judge."

Sample of Sources Used:

  • Ellis, Rodney. Justice for sale. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/justice/howshould.
  • Frontline. How should judges be selected. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/justice/howshould.
  • PBS, Initials. Judgement day. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/court.html.
  • Phillips, Tom. Justice for sale. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/justice/interviews/phillips.html.
  • Schauffler, Richard Y. (2007). Judicial accountability in the us state courts measuring court performance. Utrecht Law Review, 3(1), Retrieved from www.utrechtlawreview.org/publish/articles/000040/article

Cite this Term Paper:

APA Format

Electing Vs. Appointing Justices: A Review of the Debate (2013, April 30) Retrieved March 31, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/term-paper/electing-vs-appointing-justices-a-review-of-the-debate-152840/

MLA Format

"Electing Vs. Appointing Justices: A Review of the Debate" 30 April 2013. Web. 31 March. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/term-paper/electing-vs-appointing-justices-a-review-of-the-debate-152840/>

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