A Good Judge

A good judge is someone whom upholds justice and abides the law, while taking in the interests and opinions of the people. He should be selected through state judicial elections, where citizens have the final say based purely on factors such as popularity, qualifications and character. After all, we are the ones who elected the president, just because he portrays best the way we view ideology, ethics and values. Furthermore, more than 95 percent of the nation’s legal cases are decided by state or local courts. (Patterson 497). This involves most cases, from criminal law (from shoplifting to murder) to civil law, which are the primary causes of danger to society.(Patterson 497) Consequently, if the judge turns out bad, citizens have only themselves to blame.
In California, only superior court judges are elected. Supreme Court and Court of Appeal justices are nominated by the Governor, confirmed by the California Commission on Judicial Appointments, and then must be retained by voters in the next general election, and once again every twelve years, if they are to remain on the bench.(Debate: Election_of_judges) Superior Court judges serve six-year terms; Supreme Court and Court of Appeal justices serve 12-year terms. (Debate:_Election_of_judges) Unfortunately, people have very little say when it comes to the elections; this is because candidates have already been chosen even before the election has taken place. As corruption prevails, to abide people from higher authorities, these elections are not proper; instead the merit plan should be implemented.(Patterson 500)
The most common form of judicial elections involves competitive elections of either a partisan or a non partisan nature.(Patterson 499) Just like in the merit plan, under which the governor appoints a judge from a short list of acceptable candidates provided by a judicial selection commission. The selected judge must then be reviewed periodically by the voters, who, rather than choosing between the