【单选题】
A、whole series of judicial misdemeanors, ranging from the titillating to the outrageous, has emerged over the past year. Take the Florida state judge, John Sloop, who was ousted after complaints about his "rude and abusive" behavior. This included an order to strip-search and jail 11 defendants for arriving late in traffic court after being misdirecteD、 Or theCalifornian judge, José Velasquez, sacked inApril for a plethora of misconduct, including extending the sentences of defendants who dared question his rulings.
Then there was theAlbany city judge, WilliamCarter, in New York, censored for his "utterly inexcusable" conduct after jumping down from the bench during a trial, shedding his robes and apparently challenging a defendant to a fist-fight.Another time, he suggested that the police "thump the shit out" of an allegedly disrespectful defendant. Mr.Carter wasn’t carrying a gun; many judges now do. In Florida,Charles Greene, chief criminal judge inBrowardCounty, had to step down after describing a trial for attempted murder involving minority defendants and witnesses as "NHI" (No Humans Involved).
More serious are the cases of corruption. On June 5th Gerald Garson, a former judge inBrooklyn, New York, was jailed for taking bribes to rig divorce cases.Another judge was convicted of accepting money to refer clients to a particular lawyer. Rumors of buying and selling of judgeships in the district abounD、At one time, one in tenBrooklyn judges were said to be under investigation for sleaze.
"To distrust the judiciary," said Honor6 deBalzac, "marks the beginning of the end of society." InBritain, judges are one of the most respected groups.But inAmerica they tend to be held in low esteem, particularly at state level. For this many people blame low pay and the fact that judges are electeD、In 39 states, some or all judges are elected for fixed terms. Federal judges, usually held in much higher esteem, are appointed on merit for life—as inBritain.
Most states allow judicial candidates to raise campaign funds. Huge sums are often involved, leading to inevitable suspicions that, once on the bench, judges will pass judgments that favor their benefactors. In 2004 the two candidates in one Illinois district (with a population of just 1.3m) raised a staggering $ 9.4m between them. Some of the states with the highest levels of campaign spending—Texas, Louisiana andAlabama—are also those whose judges are most criticizeD、
In the past, judicial candidates were banned from discussing controversial legal or political issues on the campaign trail.But in 2002 the SupremeCourt ruled such bans to be
unconstitutional, leading candidates to advertise freely their views on abortion and suchlike. Personal attacks have also become more common. Indeed, SandraDay O’Connor, a former SupremeCourt justice, fears that judicial elections have turned into "political prize-fights, where partisans and special interests seek to install judges who will answer to them instead of the law and the constitution."
The meager salaries of judges, whether at state or federal level, do not help raise standards either. Federal judges have not had a real pay rise for 17 years; a district court judge earns $165,000 a year, about the same as a first-year associate in a top law firm. John Roberts, chief justice of the SupremeCourt, ear
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