Wednesday, 11 October 2006
Judicial Races
« Double Standards for Democrats | Main | Mayor Abramson Makes A Stand »U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell ruled yesterday that two provisions of the Kentucky Bar's policy on judicial conduct as unconstitutional. One is the rule that forbids judicial candidates from soliciting funds. The other is the rule that forbids candidates from identifying their political party.
Personally, I like knowing the political affiliations of the judicial candidates. It would give me a better idea what the judicial philosophy will be if they are elected to the bench. I could more readily determine if the judge is an activist judge who sees new things in the law, or a strict constitutionalists.That has always been the challenge when voting in judicial races. Which judge fits closest to my judicial philosophy? I have no clue. As far as I can tell judges are elected either randomly or by whoever has the most money for advertisement.
Which leads to the ability to solicit campaign funds. Although this could be open to abuse, it would give people who are not independently wealthy a chance to run. Of course all that would do is eliminate the money factor and make the races completely random.
Personally, I believe the only the way to keep judicial races from randomness is to not elect judges. Let the administration with approval from the legislature pick judges. That way you would improve the average quality of judges in Kentucky. True it would eliminate the random chance of a great judge getting elected. But it also keeps the complete idiots from sitting on the bench. And that should be our goal.
