Judges Commons^™

Political Judges And Popular Justice: A Conservative Victory Or A Conservative Dilemma?, George D. Brown

George D. Brown

Most of the judges in America are elected. Yet the institution of the elected judiciary is in trouble, perhaps in crisis. The pressures of campaigning, particularly raising money, have produced an intensity of electioneering that many observers see as damaging to the institution itself. In an extraordinary development, four justices of the Supreme Court recently expressed concern over possible loss of trust in state judicial systems. Yet mechanisms that states have put in place to strike a balance between the accountability values of an elected judiciary and rule of law values of unbiased adjudication are increasingly invalidated by the federal …

Rethinking Judicial Disqualification Based On Campaign Contributions: A Practical Critique Of Post-Caperton Proposals And A Call For Greater Transparency, Ryan M. Mcinerney

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Constitutionalizing Judicial Ethics: Judicial Elections After Republican Party Of Minnesota V. White, Caperton And Citizens United, Ronald Rotunda

Ronald D. Rotunda

No abstract provided.

Iowa’S 2010 Judicial Election: Appropriate Accountability Or Rampant Passion?, Roy A. Schotland

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Although 89% of state judges (appellate and general-jurisdiction trial judges) face some type of election, judicial elections are rarely thought of even by academics interested in elections. Iowa’s 2010 election, in which three Justices were defeated, is one of the most significant judicial elections ever. The Justices lost their seats because they participated in a unanimous 2009 decision upholding gay marriage. That decision stirred intense opposition among “social conservatives”, in Iowa a substantial proportion of the population and actively led by more than 100 ministers.

That active opposition was one of eight elements that created a perfect storm against the …

Economic Crisis And The Rise Of Judicial Elections And Judicial Review, Jed Handelsman Shugerman

Faculty Scholarship

Almost ninety percent of state judges today face some kind of popular election. This uniquely American institution emerged in a sudden burst from 1846 to 1853, as twenty states adopted judicial elections. The modern perception is that judicial elections, then and now, weaken judges and the rule of law. When judicial elections swept the country in the late 1840s and 1850s, however, the key was a new movement to limit legislative power, to increase judicial power, and to strengthen judicial review. Over time, judicial appointments had become a tool of party patronage and cronyism.

Legislative overspending on internal improvements and …