Judicial Independence Of State Judges Essay

In the recent years, across the United States, suggestions/requests have been introduced by representatives of the civil society, legislators & governors to limit the role of politics in the selection of state judges. These actions were motivated by the recognition that an independent judiciary is crucial for the maintenance of public confidence in the bench. The judicial system however remains imperfect. While some states chose to appoint their judges, as a way to preserve the independence of the bench, most surprisingly chose to elect their judges.
This unique practice, only followed in the United States and Bolivia, raises many concerns. While recognizing that this method allows judges to be held accountable, critics including judges running for office, are worried that fundraising …show more content…
Judicial independence refers to judges’ ability to impartially apply the law without being influenced by politics or special interests; while accountability aims to “hold judges responsible for the quality of their ruling”. It is nonetheless interesting to see, as discussed in the next section, that although all methods seek to simultaneously achieve these two objectives, most only tend achieve one or the other, raising the question of whether both judiciary independence & accountability can be effectively pursued at the same time.

Six modes of judicial selection currently exist in the United States, each being a variation of one of the three basic models: appointment, election and merit selection.
The Gubernatorial appointment where appointment is made by the Governor is only used by four states. In some, the consent of the state senate is also required; while in New Hampshire for example, approval from the elected state executive council is