Judges Appointed or Elected

610 Words3 Pages
Should Judges (i.e. District, Superior, and Supreme) in North Carolina be elected by the citizens or appointed by the Governor? Jonathan Mills North Carolina Wesleyan College Author Note This paper was prepared for Legal Environment, taught by Professor KizzyV Crawford Heath Abstract NO, it is unethical for judges to hear cases for which they may have a conflict of interest. I think it is far better for the Governor to nominate judges from a list of lawyers vetted for their professional qualifications and judicial temperament. Most elected judges once elected make bias decisions. Should Judges (i.e. District, Superior, and Supreme) in North Carolina be elected by the citizens or appointed by the Governor? North Carolina is one of 21 states that still use elections to select members of the judicial branch. The General Court of Justice in North Carolina consists of an appellate Division, a Supreme Court Division and a District Court Division. The Supreme Court and The Court of Appeals comprise the Appellate Division. As provided by Article IV, Section 16 of the North Carolina Constitution, judges in all divisions of the General Court of Justice are elected by qualified voters of North Carolina. Do I vote yes, do I agree no? I think the judicial system should not be in politics. Although NC has used the merit system for years, in my opinion appointed judges would be more appropriate. This would remove citizens from the judicial selection process in favors of an unelected and unaccountable committee. Rather a committee of unelected legal elites will take the politics out of judicial selections and provide a better Judiciary in the state. Electing judges the way North Carolina does certainly has its disadvantages. Most voters don’t know much about judicial candidates, and once elected it’s no time to get mad at their performance. Along with a lot of
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