Kerby Anderson

Allen West argues in a recent commentary that, “We have come to a time when we should have a serious discussion about the roles, duties, responsibilities, and accountability of judges in our Constitutional Republic.” He explains that judges are appointed, or elected, to a position where they are to correctly judge the law.

He also reminds us that we read about judges in the Old Testament. Sampson was a judge who was also a warrior. Deborah was not only a judge but a prophet. And her prophetic vision enabled her to aid in a military victory.

Article III created just one court of judges, and that was the US Supreme Court. All the other courts (district and appellate courts) were created by Congress and thus subject to the checks and balances established by the framers.

Allen West then points us to the fact that judges shall hold their offices during “good behavior.” Yet, he argues, we see lots of examples of “bad behavior” by many judges today. He wonders where these judges were when the previous administration openly allowed immigrants into the republic. He adds that the Supreme Court ruled that President Biden did not have the enumerated power to forgive student loan debt. He did it anyway.

Perhaps, he argues, it is time for scholars like George Washington Law professor Jonathan Turley and Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz to accurately define what “good behavior” means for the judiciary. There must be a standard, and there must be accountability.

The framers gave federal judges a lifetime appointment (to keep them above the politics of the day), but they also added the provision of good behavior (to prevent them becoming black robed tyrants). It is time for some accountability.