Log in

View Full Version : Retired!



Pages : 1 [2]

stant
07-22-2005, 08:02 PM
A. Abe Fortas was not being nominated to the Supreme Court ... he was already a sitting justice. ~

Hmmm.... I thought Abe Fortas was the sausage king of Chicago....
......
Oh wait that's Abe Froman. Sorry for the mix up.
---

anti-corruption is a worthy ideology. har har Ya caught me this time. Also, I never said he was nominated to the SC, only that he was a SC nominee (for Chief Justice).]


While there is merit to that argument, the other side is that a [federal] judge is accountable to no one, including the people.

Not entirely true. If Federal Judges make erroneous rulings on matters of law, the Appellate Circuit Courts are available to correct such errors. It is up to the parties appearing before any particular Judge to "hold him/her accountable" in this manner. Federal Judges with even a few reversals may not face a monetary or criminal penalty for errors, but their stature is significantly affected. For instance they may be scowled at at the country club for a few weeks following a particularly bad reversal. :O

Also, Federal Judges can be impeached in a similar manner as a President, although the standard is lower and more clearly layed out. Of course only a few Federal Judges have been impeached over the years...

Melonie
07-23-2005, 05:36 AM
Hmmm.... I thought Abe Fortas was the sausage king of Chicago....
......
Oh wait that's Abe Froman. Sorry for the mix up.

... which brings to mind a political joke which may go all the way back to Machiavelli ->

Q: "What do laws and sausages have in common"?
A: "They're both much easier to swallow if you haven't seen how they are actually made!"

Destiny
07-23-2005, 08:28 AM
...Not entirely true. If Federal Judges make erroneous rulings on matters of law, the Appellate Circuit Courts are available to correct such errors. It is up to the parties appearing before any particular Judge to "hold him/her accountable" in this manner. Federal Judges with even a few reversals may not face a monetary or criminal penalty for errors, but their stature is significantly affected. For instance they may be scowled at at the country club for a few weeks following a particularly bad reversal... Of course that assumes that the wronged party has both the time and the money to pursue an appeal. If they don't have the funds for an appeal, and not many people do these days, justice is denied. Also, the judge may enforce his ruling before the appeal is even heard. So the effects of an erroneous decision may be felt anyway. Also, I don't put much faith in a judge being embarrassed by having his or her decisions overturned. Look at the San Francisco Court of Appeals. Their wacky decisions are almost always overturned by the Supreme Court. In certain circles they are celebrated, not denigrated.

I noticed you skipped over my question:

You really believe a judge that would hint that some restrictions on abortion were constitutional had a chance in hell in being nominated by the Cintons?