Jed Shugerman was quoted in The News & Observer about the proposed appointment of judges in North Carolina.
Does anyone think progressives would favor this approach if they didn’t think it would serve their interests?
All three views reflect the effort of one group – who see themselves as more enlightened than everyone else – to seize power now vested in the people.
They ignore the fact, which Fordham law professor Jed Shugerman details in “The People’s Court: Pursuing Judicial Independence in America,” that America began electing judges in the 19th century because of concerns about corruption and partisanship.
They also run counter to the growing sense among the American people – see Donald Trump’s election – that the elites who run our country are better at serving their own interests than the nation’s. For a deeper look at this issue, I highly recommend Columbia law professor Phillip Hamburger’s short book, “The Administrative Threat,” which shows how the expansion of voting rights to blacks and women during the 20th century was countered by the rise of a vast, unelected federal bureaucracy.
