CJ 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 43: Judicial Misconduct, Life Tenure, Judicial Independence
Judges
The responsibilities of trial court judges extend through the criminal court process. From arrest
through sentencing, judges make critical decisions affecting those accused of crimes. Judges
determine if there is probable cause to issue a search or arrest warrant, set bail, rule on pretrial
motions, accept guilty pleas, referee trials, and mete out sentences. At all stages, judges
safeguard the rights of the accused and protect the interests of the public. Appeals courts judges
have different responsibilities, including considering legal issues raised in appeals, examining
the constitutionality of statutes, and preparing opinions that explain the reasons for their
decisions.
Federal judges
Most of the federal judges in the United States come from a special segment of the
nation's middle and upper classes: the cultural elite. Many are private school and Ivy
League graduates who come from socially prominent and politically influential families
with a tradition of public service. It is not a coincidence that all of the justices on the
1998 U.S. Supreme Court received their law degrees from the most prestigious law
schools in the United States—Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Northwestern, and Columbia.
Being a racial minority citizen and/or a woman is notan advantage for one seeking to
become a federal judge. Federal judges are overwhelmingly old, white, male, and
Protestant. The number of women and racial minorities on the federal bench has always
been small in comparison to the representation of these groups in the general
population. In the history of the Supreme Court, only two blacks and two women have
served as justices.
Thurgood Marshall, who was the grandson of a slave, became the first African‐
American to serve on the Supreme Court. During Marshall's 24 years on the Court, he
took liberal positions on a variety of criminal justice issues, including capital punishment
and civil liberties. Marshall influenced fellow justices in rulings that recognized
protection against double jeopardy in state courts and the right of defendants not to
have jurors excluded on racial grounds. He helped shape the Court's decision to abolish
the death penalty in 1972 but saw the Court reinstate it several years later. On the
Court, Marshall said little during oral arguments and conferences, except to train his
sarcasm on lawyers presenting weak arguments or on a fellow justice. During a death
penalty argument in 1981, Justice Rehnquist suggested that an inmate's repeated
appeals had cost the state too much money. Justice Marshall interrupted, “It would have
been cheaper to shoot him right after he was arrested, wouldn't it?”
Factors that influence who sits on the federal bench
First, it has been the custom to appoint lawyers to the federal bench who have
demonstrated professional competence. Second, politicsmatters—nine out of ten
federal district court judges come from the same political party as the appointing
president.
Selecting a federal judge is a multistage process. After consulting with certain senators
and the attorney general's office, the president makes a nomination. Next, the Senate
Judiciary Committee conducts an investigation of the nominee's fitness for the bench. If
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Document Summary
The responsibilities of trial court judges extend through the criminal court process. From arrest through sentencing, judges make critical decisions affecting those accused of crimes. Judges determine if there is probable cause to issue a search or arrest warrant, set bail, rule on pretrial motions, accept guilty pleas, referee trials, and mete out sentences. At all stages, judges safeguard the rights of the accused and protect the interests of the public. Appeals courts judges have different responsibilities, including considering legal issues raised in appeals, examining the constitutionality of statutes, and preparing opinions that explain the reasons for their decisions. Most of the federal judges in the united states come from a special segment of the nation"s middle and upper classes: the cultural elite. League graduates who come from socially prominent and politically influential families with a tradition of public service. It is not a coincidence that all of the justices on the.
