Idea: Elect Supreme Court Justices
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  Idea: Elect Supreme Court Justices
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Author Topic: Idea: Elect Supreme Court Justices  (Read 5674 times)
GregTheGreat657
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« on: July 31, 2021, 02:27:09 PM »

This would bring more stability to the Supreme Court, and justices would be less likely to die in office for political reasons. It also gives the people full control of all three branches of government as to who makes them up.
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Joe Republic
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« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2021, 01:46:51 AM »

God no.  No judicial offices should be elected, and it's bizarre that so many states already do so.
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Hope For A New Era
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« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2021, 07:57:55 AM »

Partisanship nightmare. No. Absolutely not.
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LabourJersey
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« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2021, 08:27:40 PM »

A partisan election to a lifetime term of the Court would be a complete nightmare.
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Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom
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« Reply #4 on: August 02, 2021, 12:12:25 AM »

Then we could get a judicial Trump. The court may get in the way of both side's partisan wants when they have a majority, but the stability provided is worth it.
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GregTheGreat657
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« Reply #5 on: August 02, 2021, 09:04:06 AM »

To the people saying the court elections would be too partisan, maybe it could be done in a way that on the ballots voters can't see which party the justices are affiliated with. Also, the Supreme Court appointments are already very partisan.
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zoz
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« Reply #6 on: August 02, 2021, 11:27:43 AM »

Absolutely not. We've already democratized too much of our government as it is
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LabourJersey
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« Reply #7 on: August 02, 2021, 02:15:06 PM »

To the people saying the court elections would be too partisan, maybe it could be done in a way that on the ballots voters can't see which party the justices are affiliated with. Also, the Supreme Court appointments are already very partisan.

People would still know which party a judicial candidate is aligned with, based on their record and endorsements. Removing a D or R alone wouldn't make this any better.
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MarkD
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« Reply #8 on: August 03, 2021, 10:03:18 AM »

The reason why our Founding Fathers made the federal judiciary to be politically independent was because that was the only way to ensure that the judges could render their decisions objectively. It's arguable that that original plan is not working, because Presidents are almost always not interested in trying to appoint the most objective interpreters of law to the Supreme Court. But would holding popular elections for Supreme Court Justices actually increase the possibility of us ending up with truly objective interpreters of law? Would most voters actually understand that objectivity is what we need the most?
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America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS
Solid4096
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« Reply #9 on: August 04, 2021, 07:40:03 AM »

Would definitely be better than the current system.
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Vice President Christian Man
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« Reply #10 on: August 10, 2021, 01:27:03 PM »

FF, but the court should be nonpartisan
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SnowLabrador
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« Reply #11 on: August 10, 2021, 10:44:20 PM »

Would definitely be better than the current system.
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brucejoel99
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« Reply #12 on: September 13, 2021, 01:25:41 PM »


Y'all are insane.
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EugeneDebs
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« Reply #13 on: September 13, 2021, 07:03:34 PM »

Do you really want longstanding legal precedent that binds the entire country to oscillate with shifts in partisan politics? That sounds like a nightmare.
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Non Swing Voter
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« Reply #14 on: September 15, 2021, 11:42:11 PM »

No, we want to get politics OUT of the court.  Look how horrendously courts in southern states like Texas behave. 

The best solution is to impose term limits so we don't have 90 year olds on the bench who are literally drooling tapioca while their clerks write actual opinions. 

10 year term limits.  This also makes senate confirmations less high stakes.
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DPKdebator
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« Reply #15 on: September 16, 2021, 04:07:20 PM »

Elected justices are a bad idea by principle, since it places judges under electoral pressure which is not something that you want when deciding on whether or not something is constitutional. Regardless of whether or not you like the way things are with the Supreme Court as it is, an elected Supreme Court would be much worse.
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Schiff for Senate
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« Reply #16 on: September 16, 2021, 10:08:17 PM »

I think a good reform may be to, instead of senatorial approval, the president naming his top 2 or 3 picks for the Supreme Court and voters selecting one of them (whoever gets the most votes is appointed).
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brucejoel99
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« Reply #17 on: September 17, 2021, 09:54:03 PM »

I think a good reform may be to, instead of senatorial approval, the president naming his top 2 or 3 picks for the Supreme Court and voters selecting one of them (whoever gets the most votes is appointed).

Honestly, if we're going that far, then we might as well just go all the way & implement a federal Missouri Plan.
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Schiff for Senate
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« Reply #18 on: September 17, 2021, 10:04:56 PM »
« Edited: September 17, 2021, 10:10:09 PM by CentristRepublican »

I think a good reform may be to, instead of senatorial approval, the president naming his top 2 or 3 picks for the Supreme Court and voters selecting one of them (whoever gets the most votes is appointed).

Honestly, if we're going that far, then we might as well just go all the way & implement a federal Missouri Plan.

Yeah, I think the Missouri Plan might be a pretty good idea - probably better than the one I suggested, since it'd make the vote (to retain a judge) less partisan and more based on the record and decisions of the judge. What I mean is, in what I suggested, there'd probably be some level of partisanship (since Democrats might support one candidate and Republicans another), and it'd basically be pitting judges against each other, making it is less of an appointment and more of a campaign - and there's no reason to insert politics into the Supreme Court. In the Missouri Plan, on the other hand, the vote would take into account the decisions the judge has made and the positions they have taken, and rather than being a campaign, a judge's record would kind of speak for itself and provide enough information to cast an informed ballot. For instance, let's say that under my prior proposal, a judge is perceived as conservative, and is nominated along with a liberal, to the Supreme Court. Then the Democrats would vote for the liberal and Republicans would vote for the conservatives and it'd be yet more hyperpartisanship. On the other hand, let's say under the Missouri plan, let's say that same 'conservative' judge is appointed for a year and it turns out he's liberal on some issues. Then, some moderate Democrats who agree with him on a majority of issues might vote to keep him a year later, rather than simply voting him down based on his perceived political views before he gets a chance to actually make big decisions.
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P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong
razze
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« Reply #19 on: October 08, 2021, 09:51:39 AM »

Do you really want longstanding legal precedent that binds the entire country to oscillate with shifts in partisan politics? That sounds like a nightmare.

Lol you got me, I spent a full minute thinking this was a serious reply. I even starting writing up a response about how this is literally the current situation when I realized
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Pres Mike
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« Reply #20 on: October 12, 2021, 08:01:23 AM »

This would be a nightmare. I prefer single 10 year terms
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Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers
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« Reply #21 on: November 08, 2021, 07:20:52 PM »

This will never happen you need an Amendment and Rs would never agree to this

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bagelman
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« Reply #22 on: November 09, 2021, 02:59:49 PM »

This will never happen you need an Amendment and Rs would never agree to this

Neither would most voters, including Ds. This idea is an affront to the vision of the founding fathers. Remember that an R came up with it.
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Senator Incitatus
AMB1996
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« Reply #23 on: December 08, 2021, 08:46:23 AM »

Judges should be divinely chosen by God, meaning the admissions offices at Harvard and Yale.
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Skill and Chance
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« Reply #24 on: December 08, 2021, 02:49:14 PM »

Terrible idea.  Many, many people would never get a fair trial because of this.  In the states that have this system today, the federal courts can at least intervene to correct the most grievous errors, which keeps the perverse incentives in check. 
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