Judges bring long-established political views to the bench because selection is itself political.

Evidence

As noted in Chapter 3, judicial selection is a political process. Presidents typically nominate members of their own political party for federal judgeships, and they inquire into potential nominees’ legal and political views, especially before filling vacancies on the Supreme Court. Politics also affects judicial selection in the states. Partisan election systems, of course, reward loyal and active party members. Political considerations also affect gubernatorial appointments, even when governors are choosing judges under the process of “merit selection.” Not surprisingly, given the extensive political backgrounds of those who become judges, they tend to bring to the bench consistent and long-established political views. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1301

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Generational events shape judicial attitudes along with everyone else’s. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1306; Political activity is often a prerequisite for becoming a judge yet then forbidden — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 556; The law rarely dictates outcomes, so judges’ political views decide most cases. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1283 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Judges bring consistent long-established political views to the bench #corroborates (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2572
• Political selection fills the courts with judges holding established partisan views #expands (0.95) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2571
• Judges act as temporally extended representatives of their appointing party. #expands (0.80)
• Merit selection transforms rather than removes politics from judicial selection #qualifies (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 439
• Party influence on judges works through shared values, not direct commands #expands (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 605
• Party affiliation reliably predicts how state court judges decide cases #expands (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 432