Jonathan R Brown Prof. John W. Feuchtenberger, J.D. POSC 401 27 March 2015 Upholding the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary Judges have a duty to be fair and impartial in the pursuit of justice. Judges play many roles. They interpret the law, evaluate the evidence that is presented before them, and they control what happens in their courtroom. Judges should not be influenced by public or political pressures in their decision in a case. It took many days for the Framers to draft the Constitution, but they didn’t have much trouble or controversy writing Article III. A lot of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention were lawyers or had some training in the law. They had a common vision of how the general role of the courts should play (Epstein and Walker). Alexander Hamilton believed that the judiciary was the least dangerous branch of government. Hamilton and almost every other founder saw the court as legal bodies. The framers agreed on the need for judicial independence (Epstein and Walker). State Judges are chosen by the will of the people and have to participate in the game of politics. Both the President and the Senate have a voice in selecting Federal Judges, they are appointed by the president and have to be confirmed by the senate and are not concerned with political pressures. The deputy attorney general of the U.S. Department of Justice search for qualified lawyers when a judgeship becomes vacant. The screening process could take a year or longer.
Under the U.S. Constitution, this appointment is a lifelong position that will only be nullified if the judge resigns their post or dies in office. This creates serious contests within the partisan political environment found among federal representatives, for any candidate appointed to this post helps define the direction of the Supreme Court for the rest of their life. Thus, it is frequently believed that a president who appoints a judge to the Supreme Court is creating a legacy, helping to shape the direction of the laws for the country for a time long after their presidency has expired. This makes the selection of a judge a hotly contested process.
Judicial power is given to the Supreme Court. All nine federal judges are appointed by the President and serve "during good behavior," usually meaning for life. The judges cannot be removed from office except for criminal behavior or malfeasance. This makes them less vulnerable to political pressure and outside influence. The main feature of the independent role for the courts lies in their power to interpret the Constitution. They review the "constitutionality" of laws and executive orders. There are
Why does Hamilton argue that the judicial branch “will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution”? – Hamilton makes this point because he wants to prove that the judicial branch is the weakest of the three branches. This is because they cannot confront the other two branches in any way; they can only make their best judgments on issues that are brought to them. Yet, Hamilton also points out this is a good thing because by being separated from the other two, the judiciary can never pose a threat to liberty.
State court judges are selected in a variety of ways, including being selected by the governor of that State in which they reside or by the state legislature. In some cases, judges are able to run for election if they want to be a judge.
A 3rd Article of the Constitution talks about the Judicial Branch. It says that there will be a court and then a “supreme” court that will make many decisions. It later says what kind of cases the federal government gets to hear. The framers wrote detailed descriptions for this Article so that the Judicial system new what cases they got and what cases the federal government got. Without the description, the federal government could possibly override the Supreme Court and get all of the cases. The framers also saw that this Article would need provisions because new cases would arise and new courts would come around.
There are two major factors that affect the confirmation process of a president’s nominees; one is party affiliation. Party affiliation is very important when the Senate is confirming a nominee, because Senate confirms nominees by a ⅔ vote. This could be very crucial to the president and his or her nominee, because if the majority of the Senate is part of the opposing party, this becomes difficult for the president to get his nominee confirmed. The second political factor is qualification to become a judge or justice. The Senate does not want an unqualified judge who does not know what he or she is doing. It is important to the Senate to approve someone who has experience in the judicial field than someone who has no experience at all. The
The power that the legislative branch holds over the judicial branch is that even though the president gets to pick the judge, the legislative branch gets to approve the judge. And like with the president the legislative branch/ congress also has the power to impeach the judges.
Under Partisan elections, Judges are chosen by the general population and candidates are voted for alongside political affiliations. In New York for example, all trial court judges partake in partisan elections with the exception of family courts judges. In Nonpartisan elections: Judges are elected by the population, without any knowledge of their political affiliation. In Legislative elections, selection
Although they had drastic differences in their opinions, they were able to hammer out a seven-article constitution. Perhaps it was these differences in opinions that made the citizens more trustworthy of the Constitution. For example, Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia at the time, believed that the states should be independent of the national government and be more powerful as well. But Alexander Hamilton believed that the new national government should be very powerful, almost like another monarchy. So, almost every citizen’s opinion was represented at this convention.
Another premise Hamilton presents in supporting his claim that judiciary stands “the least dangerous” branch is political rights and liberties of citizens. He emphasizes on the independence of judiciary from other branches that will ensure the political rights and liberties of citizens are not endangered. He believes the judiciary branch neither has the illicit jurisdiction nor the implementing power to jeopardize the political rights and liberties of people. He makes it clear that “the general liberty of the people can never be endangered from that quarter [judiciary]” and this will not be the case if “the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers”. However, He believes the judiciary on occasions may treat an individual unfairly, but in general the courts will never threaten liberties. Also, Hamilton argues that Constitution grants Congress the authority to establish federal courts in addition to the Supreme Court and to determine most of the jurisdiction of all federal courts. Hence, the judiciary branch will not be able have rulings that will endanger the basic rights political rights of citizens.
Each state within the United States of America (USA) has its own unique judicial selection process within its court system. The judicial processes vary from court to court depending on a particular state. This paper analyses these processes, the qualifications for selecting the judges and the steps for removing judges from office, as it applies in the USA states of New York and Texas.
Seniority is not taken note in the matter of promoting judges. Promotions are in the hands of the King or Yang di-Pertuan Agong who acts on the Prime Minister’s advice. The Prime Minister will consult the Chief Justice, the president of the Court of Appeal and the chief judges of the High Courts. Hence, while promoting judges, it is suggested that the seniority of the judge should be taken into consideration and Yang di-Pertuan Agong should not depend solely on the advice of the Prime
Hamilton discusses the powers of the judiciary in the Federalist papers essay no 78. He asserts that the judicial arm of the government is the least likely to threaten liberty and property of the citizens. Part of this assertion was brought about by his conviction and beliefs, that the judiciary was the weakest branch of government. The constitution spells out three branches of government which are independent of each other and perform different roles to the benefit of citizens. This document also spells out the checks and balances that help in regulating the three branches. For the judiciary, however, its nature of the roles makes it weakest. It also means that the role that judiciary plays in ensuring justice is meted upon every individual in the country makes it the least arm of government that can threaten individuals’ political rights.
This committee is comprised of lawyers and other criminal justice officials that recruit, examine, and assess potential applicants. These individuals select a judge based on his or her experience and qualifications. A pros of this process is that it minimizes the chance of selecting a judge because of their political status or their social links. The most important pro of merit selection is that the absolutely most qualified candidate is chosen based on their history. There is no other process that could weed out the unqualified candidates and pick the best person for the job. That is why this process is without a doubt the most appropriate way to appoint a
The judicial branch is one of the most powerful branches in the usa besides the legislative branch but the judicial branch has the ability to have the president confirm if they take or leave the Supreme Court Justices are chosen by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and serve for the rest of their lives, as long as they practice “good behavior.”