Who makes judges? | Jessica Kerr

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What qualifies someone to become a judge? The answer is surprisingly vague and even taboo to discuss. Lawyer Jessica Kerr sifts through the murky, mysterious process that sits at the center of the Commonwealth judicial system in countries like Australia — and makes the case for "judge school," a legal education better fit to bring justice, legitimacy and public trust to any court.

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19 Comments on Who makes judges? | Jessica Kerr

  1. I think the key is not to look at the players, look at the game. From its very inception the legal system is designed on the basis of class and education. It requires years of training to understand the legal language spoken in court and without legal representation a commoner can’t represent themselves effectively. I won’t dwell on the pompous wigs and gowns as it’s traditional “I am more important than you” attire.

    • in 2021 and forward this system imo is monkey based conciousness and logic… humanity is only starting to understand itself and us as beings….how we allow individuals to decides others faith is beyond me…the current system that came to be.and the current lvl and state that its in is disgracefull… in many cases its all about, how a lawyer can bend and play the system to there own advantage to keep corrupt greedy and injustice people out of jail and prosecution….honor, truth,justice hes long gone and left in many many many cases the current system….and all they do is smurk… rob there hands and continue…judgement and honor left a long time ago…
      u say “the game”…. well indeed it hes become a game….what should not have become or be a game in the first place…its discusting
      watch the documentary “OUTCRY” and its far worse then u could ever imagine

    • @J T Back in history when only the rich could afford wigs; because so many people were going bald with mercury poisoning & syphilis; the bigger your wig, the more important you were. Your judges go bald gracefully.
      Ours can’t take the hint. They don’t just look idiotic, they’re behaving more like idiots every day. Ridicule is the only antidote.

  2. Who can trust a judge today? Who needs them?
    Democracy is founded on the right of the accused to be judged by a jury of twelve of his peers. In this context peers means equals, not curly-wigged hob- knobs.

  3. She should have put more weight on the independence of the judiciary. That’s so important, and it’s the reason why government shouldn’t be involved, and why judges should choose judges. OK, a judge school is obviously a good idea. Wanna make it compulsory! Why not?

  4. She makes a lot of good points. It’s managed today like a trade where the quality of the judges being appointed depends on the existing judges selecting them. If that upper echelon gets corrupted there’s really no path back to what a good judge should look like. I suppose the reason why there isn’t a “judge track” is because no one understands the problem well enough to take a stand and solve it. Just recently I heard of someone getting an interview scheduled for an appointment out of the blue. He got a short message on his voice mail with a date time and place and that’s it. This attorney happened to be a mediator but had previously been a litigator for 20 years. So I guess that’s what a judge track looks like around here.

  5. My only judge is the Father God. Judges get it wrong because we are all are not perfect> Judges are not perfect, only the Almighty God.

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