Explain the reasons for and against the popular election of judges.
What will be an ideal response?
a. The main arguments for popular elections of judges are that judges are held responsible by the people
and that people know the judges’ values and beliefs. Arguments against why are that judges should be
neutral and detached. When state court judges must face the electorate, questions of politics invariably
arise. Many legal scholars believe that judges should not run partisan campaigns or discuss their
positions on issues that may come before them. They argue that judges, who are expected to be neutral
and detached, should not announce their positions or indicate how they would vote on issues such as
abortion or the death penalty. Some judges, however, run highly politicized campaigns. In 1994, for
example, Stephen W. Mansfield campaigned for the Texas Court of Appeals “on promises of the death
penalty for killers and sanctions for attorneys who file ‘frivolous appeals, especially in death penalty
cases’” (Bright & Keenan, 1995, p. 762). Many states have canons of judicial conduct that prohibit judges
from announcing their views on disputed legal or political issues. However, in 2002, the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled that these restrictions violate the freedom of speech protections of the First Amendment
(Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 2002).
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Since James had originally been charged with first degree murder, he would have been thought to have had the thought process available to plan and carry out the murder, which could be defined as ______
a. the insanity defense b. actus reus c. mens rea d. causation e. culpability
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Fill in the blank(s) with correct word
The privilege which allows the police to withhold the identity of the informant from the defense applies in all felony cases
Indicate whether the statement is true or false