Voting on Judges

[Andy Taylor]

I'm going through my sample ballot and got the the section on Judges. I know nothing about these people. Is there a reliable source for info on them about how they have ruled on 2A and other issues?

[N6ATF]

One of Justice Joyce Kennard’s concurring opinions:

The architects of our federal and state Constitutions understood that widespread and deeply rooted prejudices may lead majoritarian institutions to deny fundamental freedoms to unpopular minority groups, and that the most effective remedy for this form of oppression is an independent judiciary charged with the solemn responsibility to interpret and enforce the constitutional provisions guaranteeing fundamental freedoms and equal protection.

It was about gay marriage, but should just as soon be applied against victim disarmament.

[Chris J]

I have the same problem. The best thing I've found to do (when I have the time) is to Google each one and see what turns up. At that, the search usually does not often come up with anything directly 2A related.

I don't know of any one place you can go for the information. I'd like to, though, and not just on 2A issues -- it would be nice to be able to just look up any judge's voting record. Maybe there is a way to do that but I haven't found it.

[Nor-Cal]

I also have the same question about the judges,

[Flouncer]

Yeah

The voting, or decision record, the ruling record of the Judges should be easily and instantly available to public scrutiny. Admitting my ignorance on the subject, but it makes you wonder why it is not.

[HisDivineShadow]

The best I have been able to do is to try to do a search for their published decisions, if there are any, or if it is cited/appears in an appealed case, on Westlaw or Lexis.

[CCWFacts]

I also am stumped by the judges voting section. I think it's very important to have good judges, but how do I judge the judges? I do type their names into Google but usually that doesn't tell me much.

I think it would be cool if there were a public interest group (ideally a conservative one) that would take on the task of publishing detailed information on judges so voters could make more informed decisions.

[faterikcartman]

To a large extent judges have more, and exercise more, political power than politicians.

So while one would like to know the politics of the judge making policy, you're not told so they may keep you fooled with the illusion of impartiality.

[Crom]

I am experiencing the same frustration. We may want to ask CRPA to evaluate each of the judges and publish a voting guide or something. It is very time consuming to independently research each individual.

[inbox485]

One of Justice Joyce Kennard’s concurring opinions:


It was about gay marriage, but should just as soon be applied against victim disarmament.

You would be amazed at how myopic gay rights activists get when non gay rights are being discussed. It is no different than gun rights activists being myopic to non gun liberties.

And I second the request for a voter's guide on the judges.

[mdimeo]

I'm going through my sample ballot and got the the section on Judges. I know nothing about these people. Is there a reliable source for info on them about how they have ruled on 2A and other issues?

On any proposition or race where I don't know anything about the matter, my rule is to choose the side with the least amount of ALL CAPS, exclamation! points!, pointlessly bolded text and general sloganeering in the candidate statement or arguments for/against.

It's not perfect, but when I test it against the propositions and candidates where I actually do know something, it seems to give the right answer most of the time.

Your mileage may vary

[nick]

http://www.judicialwatch.org/

[AJAX22]

I think Supreme court judges should be elected by the judiciary.

And senators should go back to being appointed by state legislature.

[Aldemar]

Same question here. I was going to do research each one this weekend. If anyone is interested, I can do a spreadsheet on 2A and other pertinent items.
Other than 2A, what else should be included?

[inbox485]

I think Supreme court judges should be elected by the judiciary.

And senators should go back to being appointed by state legislature.

If that were the case, Boxer's seat would be a lot safer than it is right now.