What price justice?

Recently George Will wrote a piece for the Washington Post called Bargin Basement Judiciary. In the article he said, "Fifty years ago, about 65 percent of the federal judiciary came from the private sector -- from the practicing bar -- and 35 percent from the public sector. Today 60 percent come from government jobs, less than 40 percent from private practice. This tends to produce a judiciary that is not only more important than ever but also is more of an extension of the bureaucracy than a check on it." I do not know where Mr. Will got his numbers from but if this is true it is more troubling than the lack of pay increases for the judiciary.

If you think about the qualities we value most in a judge, what are they? Objectivity, balanced temperment, wisdom, and if you are the accused, dare I even say, mercy. We are all products of our past and our environment. Most importantly judges are human beings with all the same weaknesses as the rest of us. An individual's past can't help but influence the thought process.

Therefore, is it healthy for the criminal justice system to have judges who have only experienced one side of the system? Can a judge who was a career prosecutor bring to a case the same abilities as someone who has been both a prosecutor and a defense attorney? Individually I am sure there are such people but it would seem to me that their lack of experience in one area would be a deficiency.

Can we expect a robust and independent judiciary to serve as a bulwark against the government if the judge has always been a servant and employee of the government. It is to be expected that there will always be people moving in and out of government service, your humble writer was an ADA at one time, however is it healthy to our justice system to fill the judiciary with people who have never known anything but working for the government? Judges occasionally have to stand up to strong executives who seek to exercise more power than the law allows. We need strong judges who will protect and serve the people not the government. That is worth any price.