They tried to make Hillary look like some criminal because she used her own cell phone when she was Secretary of State. Our government is getting more sleazy  in how they present people. Elections have become just giant slander machines. They neglect to mention in their criticism of her that there was No government cell phone issued as they have put in place for our current Secretary of State to use at the time of her service to this country. Please stop the slander especially since she did not even say she wants to throw herself into the Mud Slinging Arena we call elections.

We all should be more concerned about who our local judges are. Chances are that we might have to go in front of them in our lifetimes and we should know what kinds of quacks are being elected to their positions. For example recently a federal court lifted the ban on same sex marriage in Alabama but Roy Moore the State’s Supreme Court Justice decided that he had the authority to order judges to ignore the federal ruling. What was his judicial reasoning to order that? He is crazy to think that any state’s ruling can override a federal order. How did this nut become the highest judicial officer in the state of Alabama?

Like 85% of state judges in America he was elected. I was an appointed Administrative Law Judge to oversee parking violations in New York City; probably the most uncontroversial deciding job ever. In 39 states we hold elections to appoint judges. There is only one other country on earth that elects judges and that is Bolivia. America has been electing judges since the early 1800’s and all began from good intentions. Judicial elections entered as a reform measure when people were concerned that judges were being selected from behind closed doors and there wasn’t any kind of public accountability for their actions. For most judges now, well, sure we elect them and vote for them in the booth but most run unopposed.

In Los Angeles 150 out of 151 judges there ran un- opposed in their elections. They still paid for election advertising. Judge Allen Loughry   had expensive TV commercials where he told everyone that he named his son justice.  Does he have a name for his penis too that is law related? How about the Gavel. Honey I’m home how about I bang you with my Gavel? Ugh! TV commercials are not relevant to a Judge’s career. The problem with an elected judiciary is that the right sentence of someone is neither easy nor popular. The judge’s job is to question all possible answers and then make a decision not necessarily the most popular decision. TV commercials are trying to make judges popular.  

There are some academic studies that suggest that judges do change their behavior.  In election years judges tend to be harder on crime than other years. Appointing judges is not the perfect system either. We can all name someone we like or someone we don’t like. Elections cost money and judges hit up lawyers for   funds to finance their TV commercials. It is impossible to say no yet judges asking lawyers for contributions is a conflict of interest. Sometimes judges will shake down lawyers even after they are elected. Many judges don’t like this system yet it is there and it is common.  Since Citizens United and other super pacts have gotten involved, the money exchanged has gone   into the millions of dollars.

The North Carolina Judicial Coalition has funders that include major businesses like tobacco companies R. J. Reynolds. When you have a judicial system that can be bought and sold by big contributors and corporations what is right and wrong is tossed aside for popular opinion and that is wrong. Let’s have the lady holding the scales of justice holding a tip jar in one hand and have her winking at you to say thanks.