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Judicial Selection: Part I: Article Analysis

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Introduction The two articles being critiqued are; “Judicial Selection: Part I. Reform: Are Campaign Contributions Compromising the Independent Judiciary?” and “Reform from Within: Positive Solutions for Elected Judiciaries.” Both articles by their titles give away exactly what the writers intend to speak about. The articles in question are opposed to the current method of selection for Judiciaries, that being an election based process in most states. They fear that money, political standpoints, and flashy advertising are getting in the way of Justice being appropriately and justly being administered. They believe that a merit based selection should be utilized in making an individual a Judiciary. The questions these articles aim to answer …show more content…

He notes that “the ‘ask’ is undignified and the ‘give’ is fairly compelled” (Jefferson, 2009). What does this mean? What this individual gathered from the article and the provided script of one of his phone calls is the individual called upon to donate does not really have a choice in the matter as to if he or she will donate to the campaign. Seems a little suspicious. However suspicious the donator shows their support for the running judge by giving him or her money to do so. The author mentions how some states by law prohibit judges from soliciting individuals for campaign funds or at the very least put a limit as to how much an individual can donate. Chief Justice Jefferson goes on to mention that in order for their to be reform in the Judiciary selection one obstacle must be overcome, the voter. The reform that the author seeks is to do away with the campaigning and have judges be selected off of an individual’s merit. He mentions that “since 1940, thirty-seven states have adopted some form of merit selection for their judges” (Jefferson, 2009). The reason for this is because the average citizen does not know a whole lot about the individuals running in the election besides the name on the ballot. An example from the author of how the voter can be an obstacle when it comes to judicial selection is that “some states run on a partisan …show more content…

12 We can eliminate most of that money, and much of the bitterness of the campaigns, by adopting a system in which the state's governor appoints a judge from an independent commission's list. The governor's appointee would serve for a period of years and then stand before the public in an election that tests the incumbent's performance in office. Politics will inevitably enter the process (as it does in all aspects of public life), but a judge's qualifications, temperament, and work ethic would be paramount” (Jefferson,

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