Voting for judges seems incredibly stupid!

[Towlie]

I mailed my ballot in but I skipped over all of the local judge candidates, as I always do. How in hell am I supposed to know who the good and bad judge candidates are? It seems to me that those who do vote for judges generally do so based upon the worst reasons imaginable, such as whether the candidate's names give them good or bad vibes, or whether they know and like, or dislike, someone else with the same last name.

Dr. Dealgood: ... ain't it the truth: you take your chances with the law, justice is only a roll of the dice. A flip of the coin. A turn... of the Wheel.

There has to be a better way.

[Wounded Bear]

1. I hear you...

It might make sense in a small rural town with less than a couple of hundred people, but in a modern democracy at state wide level, kind of stupid IMO.

Even at the county level. I live in a county with over 2 million people in it. I'm supposed to track the dockets of dozens of judges? Not practical.

[hlthe2b]

2. The state bar association or other legal group usually ranks judges up for a retainment vote and

makes public their assessments, either via the official voter information pamphlet or online. Try googling judges up for review on ballet and your locale or see if the voter registrar's office has online links to such a pamphlet.


In Colorado, there is actually a Commission on Judicial Performance that does so and they have a searchable database:
http://www.coloradojudicialperformance.gov/

[eShirl]

3. so you're letting the people with bthe worst reasons imaginable decide who becomes judge

surely there must be a way to find information on local candidates before one votes

[HAB911]

4. Honestly

I rely on my local newspaper's review and recs. It sucks, I know, but then my paper is the Tampa Bay Times, better than most.

[AleksS]

5. Even worse: allowing campaign contributions

To electable judges.

Here in WI it’s no secret that our judges are up for sale every 10 years, not election.

Ridiculous amounts are raised and spent on judicial elections, and the folks that pay the money know what they’re paying for, and know what they expect to get from their investments. And the judges don’t even bother to hide it, doing things like refusing to recuse themselves when presiding over cases involving their largest donors.

[LeftInTX]

6. I rely on my newspaper for endorsements