No judicial selection system fully eliminates political influence
Evidence
The political conflict over the Garland and Gorsuch nominations is hardly unique. Judges in the United States may be appointed or elected; they may be chosen by political officials, by “merit selection,” or by popular vote. But no selection system altogether banishes political or ideological considerations; different selection systems may affect who exercises political influence but not whether it will be exercised. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 498
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Judges’ values and discretion mean who sits matters for outcomes — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 499; Partisan elections make supreme court races competitive but trial court races party-dominated — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 413; Party influence on judges works through shared values, not direct commands — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 605 (+13 more)
Broader Connections
- Political selection fills the courts with judges holding established partisan views
#exemplifies(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2571 - Even the judiciary is an organ of political hegemony, not neutral arbiter.
#corroborates(0.80) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 923 - Ideology has replaced patronage in appeals court selection since recent decades
#exemplifies(0.80) - Party affiliation predicts judicial votes across court levels but only imperfectly.
#qualifies(0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1314 - Retention elections rarely remove judges because voters lack information about them
#exemplifies(0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 436 - Selection method produces few but patterned differences in judicial voting.
#qualifies(0.72) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 633 - Judges may not comment on government policy or law merits.
#exemplifies(0.72) — Lynley Hood, A City Possessed, 3260