The judicial system was created to interpret the laws of our country and protect citizens’ rights, the limitation of simply interpreting current laws rarely allows for new reform not already supported by legislation elsewhere. The lack of social or legal reform by the judicial system or its judges only allows them to support our freedom through the interpretation of state or federal laws. The process or action is called judicial review. Judicial review is described in the text by saying” The principle of judicial supremacy gives the courts the power of judicial review, which permits them to nullify or overturn any federal, state, or public law that conflicts with the Constitution.”[1] In certain instances a judge’s ability to make a decision on a wrongful termination lawsuit or a discrimination lawsuit is really how they support our freedoms. Through diligent interpretation of the current laws is how our rights are protected by the judicial system.
The problems associated with how the judicial system supports our freedoms is derived from the separation between Federal and State courts and more importantly how judges are chosen in each court system. The State courts are defined structurally by the state and the majority of the individual states today elect their judges during election years. The democratic selection of most state’s judges makes their legal decisions more inline with the perceptions of the people who voted them in. In contrast Federal judges are chosen by the President and then approved by the U.S senate. The very one sided appointment to federal judges makes them unaccountable to the citizens who are affected by their legal decisions. Furthermore the lifelong appointments given when you are selected to be a federal judge means that judges who make decisions that the public majority would disagree with can’t be removed from office. The text goes on to explain that “citizens cannot judge the judges and remove them. “[2]
In all I really don’t like how federal judges are appointed. While I’ve learned from the book that the majority of cases filed in the U.S. are handled by state judges, I find it very scary that some of the big cases that affect U.S. policies regarding energy and economy could be handled by someone who is soo old they would be completely out of touch. Also I feel that being a judge that long could really go to someone’s head. It would go to mine. J
If all but Supreme Court justices were democratically voted in how do you think it would affect the current judicial system?
Would the appointment of predominantly Hispanic judges change how illegal citizens are prosecuted in America
I chose not to add this because some might find it offensive but I found it quite entertaining.
mwahahahahahaha
mwahahahahahaha
http://race42012.com/2009/06/10/political-cartoons/, Accessed 3/20/2011
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