Judges

Our system of government is a system that relies on balance in order to prevent a concentration of power and is arguably the most powerful. With its ability to declare both executive and legislative actions unconstitutionally, the judicial branch has a lot of space in determining the final say on whether or not our country can or cannot do a particular thing. This power requires that the judicial branch has effective judges in order to work properly. All judges carry an enormous amount of responsibility. In criminal trials, they are responsible for making sure that the lawyers follow all of the rules of evidence, and ensure that defendants get every right that is afforded to them. They make sure that everything is fair and that the jury is given adequate information in order to decide the guilt or innocence of a party. In civil trials, the judges must decide hard cases by interpreting precedent and decide which policy would be best where the law is not exactly clear on a subject. Judges are responsible for many tasks within the courtroom. The most important responsibility of a judge is to take the oath of office and to uphold that oath. They must swear that they will do their best to ensure that all official duties within their capacity are successfully executed. Judges are somewhat like referees during trials as well as sentencing agents during criminal cases. Judges are also responsible for signing warrants, attending preliminary hearings, and determining bail. An effective judge will be guided by precedent. They will interpret those cases decided before the one at hand, and will decide what those precedents dictate. If a judge is effective, then they will be able to make a stern, well thought out decision concerning a case. An effective judge will also make sure that all of the facts are presented in order to make sure that the accused receives a proper trial. An ineffective judge is one who lacks proper education, knowledge of the laws, and confidence and generally makes rash decisions. In the court room, effective judges are attentive and reasonable, while ineffective judges can sometimes be hasty, or bullies, which can cause setbacks in a case. An effective Supreme Court judge is one who believes that the guidelines of federal sentencing are not mandatory but advisory and will bring this to the attention of the United States Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justices effectiveness can vary depending on whom you ask. There are several ideals on what a Supreme Court Justice is supposed to do depending on how the Constitution is interpreted. For example, current Justice Scalia, believes that the Constitution is to be interpreted the way it would have been when it was written, in the eighteenth century (Scalia, 2005). Others believe that the constitution is a living thing that is to be interpreted differently as times change (Gutmann, 1998). Most all Justices share several qualities which relate to more general aspects of the job. An effective Justice will have an open mind, and will not go into a case with his mind already made up. A Justice will be an umpire as much as possible, merely applying rules and not making them unless it is absolutely necessary. However, an ineffective Justice may pick sides, and decide a case based on his own personal legal thoughts and ideas that he or she wishes to advance, or they may decide a case based on their own personal political agenda in order to advance. Therefore, it is hard to determine the effectiveness of a Supreme Court Justice without first choosing a side. Without good judicial ethics, a judge will be very ineffective. Good judicial ethics can be as simple as following the laws as well as practicing them. In reality, the only course of action for high court judges is impeachment. Supreme Court Justices are generally isolated from political pressure to ensure that they do not decide cases for political reasons! If they cannot be held in check by their colleagues, the only alternative is impeachment. This will not only prevent this particular judge from making bad decisions, but it will also serve as a deterrent to other judges, so that they will not do the same thing. With lower court judges, there are other courses of action. The most effective is for a higher court to overturn their decision upon appeal. No lower court judge will want to be overturned, as it will be embarrassing and reflect poor judgment from down below. So in the lower courts there is much less to be concerned about, as compared to the all-mighty judges who sit on state and federal appeals and Supreme Courts. Sources: Scalia, A. (2005). Law & Language. First Things, Nov., 23. Gutmann, A. (1998). A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law. Princeton:
Princeton University Press. 36-41.