BEING JUDGEY: Why we should pick the best qualified candidates for the bench.

Byline: Bridgetower Media Newswires

Nothing in our legal system is more important than judges.

Cases proceed (or don't proceed) and resolve largely on the basis of the individual proclivities of the person wearing the robe. A good judge can make a complex, difficult case into a resolvable one and a bad judge can do the opposite. The judge sets the tone for civility and professionalism.

I can go on and on. One need only consider the independence of our judiciary during the challenges to the 2020 election (see my article "Proud of Our Courts" in the Jan. 28, 2021, edition of this publication) to appreciate the importance of the judiciary in this country. And, we are fortunate that the vast majority take their jobs very seriously and do it very, very well.

Although judges in Wisconsin are elected to six-year terms, most are initially appointed and very few ever have opposition for re-election. All federal judges are appointed for life. Therefore the nomination, by the governor for state judges and the president for federal judges, is of utmost importance.

This discretion by the chief executive has immediate relevance in Wisconsin as four lawyers have been submitted by a bi-partisan federal nominating committee to President Biden for a vacancy in the federal court in Green Bay. One of the four will undoubtedly be nominated for a lifetime appointment. Of the four, two are women and one is the brother of a U.S. Congressman.

By June?23, 2021, the U.S. Senate had confirmed seven lawyers nominated by President Biden for the federal bench. There are 17 Biden nominations currently awaiting Senate action: Five for the courts of appeals and twelve for district courts.

Of the seven nominations for the courts of appeals, six are women, four are African American, two are Hispanic and one is a white male.

Of the seventeen...