Comments on: Ninth Circuit judge tees off on colleagues’ environmentalism

By: equsnarnd

equsnarnd — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:58:41 +0000

Judges can be impeached. And…”Article III of the United States Constitution, Section 1, which says that federal judges hold office during good behavior.”
That ‘good behavior’ is important. And if they are abusing their power, overstepping their bounds, that is ‘bad’ behavior.
“Good behavior is not only a standard, but it is also a remedy that’s available to us for judges who are usurping, particularly usurping legislative power.”
So, one has to wonder why this remedy isn’t used.

By: antiredistributionist

antiredistributionist — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:53:01 +0000

All hail our black-robed masters!

By: J.T. Wenting

J.T. Wenting — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 06:16:22 +0000

if judges were to enforce the law, rather than write it, having elected judges would be a bad thing. But what the 9th is doing is writing law, something they’re of course not legally allowed to do but no one is seemingly even trying to stop them, and that is (or should be) the sole responsibility of elected bodies.

By: Rick

Rick — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 12:46:47 +0000

Interesting stuff but I think it’s much ado about nothing. What the Mayor is doing is mostly banning 64 ounce cups, not drinks. I have an insulated 64 ounce mug that I refill with ice and soda every day. I was amazed to discover that if I bought a 16 ounce coke and poured it in my already full of ice cup the 16 ounces fills it nearly to the top. I doubt anyone is actually drinking 64 ounces of anything.

By: Yeaah

Yeaah — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 07:29:36 +0000

Justice system should be about justice, law and fair treatment, not a popularity contest. Elections influence criminal system – the sentences are higher in the elections year.

Whether an action broke a law is not the same thing as whether it is a good public policy to allow that action. Nor it is the same thing as whether people like it to be legal. Elected judges care less about the former and more about the latter.

By: Jerry Vandesic

Jerry Vandesic — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 21:08:36 +0000

Smith’s charge that the world would be a better place if judges were “directly accountable to the people through elections” might be true in some cases, but it would fail in many more. Putting civil rights in the hands of someone who is beholding the majority of voters doesn’t sound like a good idea.