1. Chapter Eight: Judges

2. The Position of Judge Powers of the Judge Benefits of the Job
Set & revoke bail - Preside over trials
Determine of probable cause - Sentencing
Accept pleas - Conduct hearings
Rule on pretrial motions of evidence
Benefits of the Job
Average salary is $133,000
Award positions such as bailiffs, clerks, ct reporters
Frustrations of the Job
Heavy caseload and administrative problems
No time for challenging legal questions or investigating proper sentencing, must move cases
The position of judge
Held responsible for the operation of a fair and impartial system
Interpreter of the law

3. The Position of Judge 3

4. The Position of Judge 4

5. Varying Roads to a Judgeship
Executive Appointments
election by legislature or appointment by governor
Partisan or Non-Partisan Election
“voters should decide who is qualified to hold office”
Candidates can announce views on key issues
Merit Selection (Missouri Bar Plan)
Judicial nominating committee of lawyers & laypersons suggesting a list of nominees
Serve a fixed period of time
Retention election is held
Attempts to remove the courts from politics

6. Election of Judges More than half of the states elect judges
The concept which emerged during the Jacksonian Era
Part of a movement to democratize the political process

7. Election of Judges 7

8. Diversity and the Judiciary
Increasingly more women and minorities are being appointed federal judges
Today 37% of federal judges can be considered ‘non-traditional’
Drawing conclusions about the differences women make on the bench is problematic

9. Judging the Judges Judicial independence
How to remove unfit judge’s without compromising judicial independence
Judicial misconduct…California model= state judicial conduct commissions
Federal Conduct and Disability Act – allows for impeachment and removal

10. Judicial Ethics Additional ethical constraints beyond those of lawyers
ABA Model Canons of Judicial Ethics
Each state has a set of canons of judicial ethics