- In what ways is the court system better suited to protect the individual, than are the elected branches of government (such as Congress and the President; or the Mayor of NYC and the NYC City Assembly)? Give an example to illustrate your argument.
I think the court system is better at protecting individuals because judges aren’t elected by the public. They’re chosen by the president and approved by the Senate, they don’t have to worry about pleasing voters to keep their job. On the other hand, elected officials like the president, Congress, or mayors, might make decisions based on what’s popular or what will get them re-elected, even if it doesn’t help everyone equally.
2.Think about how federal judges get to become judges – unlike Presidents, Mayors and members of Congress (and other legislatures), they are not elected, but rather appointed. Many Americans have thus called the federal courts system, and especially the Supreme Court, anti-democratic places in our government. Do you agree that the Supreme Court, for example, is an anti-democratic part of our government? What could be the reason for this way of choosing judges in federal courts? (HINT: think about our discussion of “Federalist #10”, and which social class plays a leading role in our government system.)
Yes, I do think the Supreme Court is kind of anti-democratic. People don’t vote for the justices directly. They’re picked by the president and approved by the Senate. And while we vote for the president and senators, sometimes people regret their vote, but they still must wait until the next election to make a change. Meanwhile, those leaders keep making important decisions, like choosing judges.
I think the reason judges are chosen this way goes back to ideas in Federalist #10. The people who wrote that, like James Madison, were part of the wealthy and powerful class. They didn’t trust the public to make all decisions, so they wanted a system that would protect their own interests, like keeping control over the courts. By appointing judges instead of electing them, they made sure the legal system stayed in their hands and not the population.
