Argumentative essay example
Judicial Selection
- Subject
- Law
- Type
- Argumentative essay
- Citation style
- APA 6
- Length
- 7 pages
About this sample
The paper argues that judicial independence and judicial accountability both serve the courts, and that judicial elections, though imperfect, achieve accountability and independence from politics better than appointments do. It is organised around the benefits of an independent judiciary, Hamilton's views on judicial review in Federalist No. 78, and a section defending elections over appointments.
- Judicial independence
- Judicial accountability
- Judicial elections versus appointments
- Federalist No. 78
- Judicial review
How it opens
There are benefits to having a judiciary that is separate from other branches of the government. Judicial independence provides judges with protection if they make controversial decisions that result in public outrage. Judicial independence also allows a judge to make unpopular pronouncements and still be safe from politicians or government officials that may retaliate or reduce their wages. Moreover, judicial independence is essential to nurturing public confidence in the impartiality and neutrality of the judiciary. Despite their independence, judges are responsible for their actions and decisions. Proceedings are open to public scrutiny so that citizens can review and probe the operation of the courts. On the other hand, there are also advantages to having a judiciary that is answerable to its decisions. Judicial accountability implies that rulings, hearings, and trials can be inspected by the public meaning there is transparency that enables the media and the citizens to examine the judicial system. If there are any established claims of misbehavior, a judge can be removed from office or subjected to remedial measures. Judicial appointments based on merit do not exclude politics from the process but only eliminates politics from public awareness. Although judicial elections are not faultless, they are more efficient than judicial appointments as a way of endorsing public accountability and judicial independence.
The opening section, transcribed from the PDF. The full paper continues below.
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Using an example well
Read it for how the paper is built, not for wording to reuse: how the introduction frames the question, how each paragraph moves from a claim to evidence, and how sources are cited in APA 6. Submitting any part of it as your own work would be plagiarism, and it is written for a different brief than yours.
Writing one yourself? Read the guide How to write an argumentative essay and the APA format guide.