Who Should Pick the Judges?

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City Journal:

MARK PULLIAM

Who Should Pick the Judges?

 

The people should.

 

20 August 2014

Winston Churchill famously remarked that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others. He was right. Yes, the process of elections is imperfect, and it occasionally produces bad results, but the alternative isn’t perfection—it’s something worse. The same holds true for judicial election

 

In Texas, voters choose judges—from the lowest justice of the peace to members of the Texas Supreme Court—in partisan elections, and have done so since 1851. This means that judges periodically have to campaign for reelection, raise money, and appear on the ballot. Like other elected officials, they rely on the informed judgment of the voters to keep them in office. This system is enshrined in the Texas Constitution (Article 5) and seems to work reasonably well. The American Tort Reform Association rates state court systems based on fairness, balance, predictability, and the reasonableness with which civil cases are handled. California regularly receives poor marks, and for two years in a row has been rated a “Judicial Hell Hole.” Texas, by contrast, is consistently hailed by business groups and CEOs for having one of the nation’s best business climates, ranking first in most surveys.

 

http://city-journal.com/2014/eon0820mp.html