Brian, great work on the judiciary. It appears we have a problem, which I suggest is better described as a closed union shop than a cartel. Nuanced labels aside, the Idaho judicial system badly needs some fresh air. One change would be that any mid-term appointees must run in the next available election for the seat - not granted the seat to complete the term.
A second change would dispense with the fiction that these are nonpartisan elections and appointments. Nothing is nonpartisan any more. A judge may be scrupulously careful to avoid any suggestion of a party association, but they all have personal ideologies they bring to the bench and those ideologies generally track with one party more closely than another.
Much more is needed to ensure Idaho's judiciary reflects Idaho's values rather than those of the judicial union.
Thanks JD. We definitely need some sort of reform. Either give voters a real choice - special elections, partisan primaries, or something - or else dispense with the fiction of voting entirely and just have the governor appoint judges and justices with consent of the Senate, like at the federal level.
Brian, great work on the judiciary. It appears we have a problem, which I suggest is better described as a closed union shop than a cartel. Nuanced labels aside, the Idaho judicial system badly needs some fresh air. One change would be that any mid-term appointees must run in the next available election for the seat - not granted the seat to complete the term.
A second change would dispense with the fiction that these are nonpartisan elections and appointments. Nothing is nonpartisan any more. A judge may be scrupulously careful to avoid any suggestion of a party association, but they all have personal ideologies they bring to the bench and those ideologies generally track with one party more closely than another.
Much more is needed to ensure Idaho's judiciary reflects Idaho's values rather than those of the judicial union.
Thanks JD. We definitely need some sort of reform. Either give voters a real choice - special elections, partisan primaries, or something - or else dispense with the fiction of voting entirely and just have the governor appoint judges and justices with consent of the Senate, like at the federal level.