Should we purge the Judicial Branch and elect them ourselves?

Question

Some of those justices think it's OK to be annonymous, out of the public eye, and still sit in 1 out of 9 seats that make up 1/3 of our entire federal government...What kind of Checks and Balances allows Justices to be elected by the Senate and the president...there is a 4th branch of the government: pissed off Americans

Answer 1

Actually, the nine Justices in the Supreme Court only make about 5% to 10% of the relevant federal law -- the rest is made by the federal appellate courts -- and that doesn't even address all of the state court decisions.

And they're certainly not anonymous -- there are only 9 of them, so it's pretty hard to keep your name out of things.

What kind of checks and balances? Well, aside from Constitutional issues -- everything they decide based on federal laws can be overturned if Congress changes the underlying federal laws -- and that's the vast majority of their docket and the vast majority of most federal cases.

Constitutional issues are actually a very small percentage of the matters heard -- and those can be overruled by changing the Constitution -- which can be done by Congress or the people (and the states).

As for why and how they get appointed -- that's in the Constitution too -- you want to change it -- go right ahead.

Answer 2

Sure, one look at the Legislative and Executive branches should tell you that we're great at picking rational, fair-minded, and highly ethical candidates for office. That could only make the Judicial branch run smoother.

Answer 3

No. Our style of government has worked for over 200 years and still is working today. Why change it?

Answer 4

Uh Skippy, you need to read the constitution. The SCOTUS is ALWAYS nominated by POTUS and confirmed by the senate.