If it's time for term limits on elected officials, why not impose them on judges who too often act like legislators? The voters in Iowa just imposed "term limits" on three of the judges on their supreme court for overturning the will of the people concerning traditional marriage.
I have always voted against the retention of every judge on every ballot even while knowing that it was a futile attempt by one person to impose a limit on the abuse of power so often exhibited by judges. A very good friend, during the last election, opined that she was voting to retain state supreme court judges appointed by a conservative past governor of our state, and against the retention of judges appointed by prior liberal governors. I immediately recalled the nomination of Earl Warren to SCOTUS by President Dwight Eisenhower, the nomination of David Souter to the same court by President George H. W. Bush, and the nomination of Anthony Kennedy by President Ronald Reagan. Those three appointments (and certainly many others through the years) should deconstruct the myth that judges appointed or nominated by certain politicians will perpetually issue rulings that reflect the interpretation of the constitution held by the politician making the appointment or nomination. In any case, it behooves us to remember the warning issued by Lord Acton concerning absolute power, and to understand that judges - especially those ensconced for life - enjoy absolute power.
Dr. Thomas Sowell, in his column today on National Review Online, makes the case for "Stopping Judicial Imperialism."
Here are some clips:
The runaway arrogance that politicians get when they have huge majorities in Congress is more or less common among federal judges with lifetime tenure or state judges who are seldom defeated in elections to confirm their appointments to the bench.
Those who believe in gay marriage are free to vote for it. But, when they lose that vote, it is not the role of judges to nullify the vote and legislate from the bench. Judges who become politicians in robes often lie like politicians as well, claiming that they are just applying the Constitution, when they are in fact exercising powers that the Constitution never gave them.
If they are going to act like politicians, then they should be voted out like politicians.
The time is long overdue to stop treating judges like sacred cows, especially when they have so much bull.
To read Dr. Sowell's entire column, click on the link below.
Stopping Judicial Imperialism - Thomas Sowell - National Review Online
