THE RITTENHOUSE CASE JUDGE in Wisconsin, Cir. Judge Bruce Schroeder, is taking a lot of flak, perhaps rightly so. Some of his legal rulings and courtroom decisions were questionable, at best. For instance, telling the prosecution that they couldn’t refer to the people the defendant shot as “victims,” but allowing the defense to characterize them as “terrorists” or “protesters” was crazy bad. I also saw him instructing the jury on the law from memory rather than reading approved instructions, a major gaffe. Some commentators are now proffering the argument that his perceived inadequacies are the product of a state system that elects judges. I believe that they have a point. When a lawyer runs for a judicial position, the electorate has no earthly idea what kind of a judge he or she would make. Some turn out good; some turn out so-so; some become the runts in the litter within the courthouse complex. But when a state has an appointive system, lawyers must run the gauntlet of a judicial nominating committee made up of lawyers and other community professionals. They can separate the mediocre wannabees from the legitimate contenders through a knowledgeable interview session. Then they send to the governor the few names they have determined to appear qualified. Even if the governor makes an appointment decision based upon politics, at least he’s picking from pre-qualified candidates, which makes it substantially better than the uninformed elective process.
Hello HenryM.
Thank you for enlightening us as to the procedure by which judges are appointed in the USA.
Over here in the UK, the bias is much more subtle, in that the early pathways towards the top of that sort of profession is often strewn with class discrimination and bias. They used to call it 'the old-school-tie network' , wherby only those who came from certain privileged backgrounds; who had recieved the approved education and belonged to the 'right' political party, were ever considered 'suitable' for these position of influence and power. In a system where the head of the armed forces - indeed the country, is still 'handed down' from one generation to the next without any democratic authorisation, it stands to reason that almost all positions of power and influence will be controlled by the same elite.
Yet, these people still try to insist that we live in a 'democratic' society. (where they are able to manipulate the voting system so that the principle of one person-one vote, is virtually meaningless when it comes to practical representation and lawmaking. From my perspective, the only systems that come anywhere near being 'democratic', are those based on the principles of proportional representation.
Rant over - until the next time!
Best wishes
Bill
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I feel your pain, Bill. The USA hasn't been a democracy for a long time, if ever. The country is essentially run by rich corporations and bigwig pols on the take. An honest politician is one who, when bought, stays bought.
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