On Monday, writing for The Bulwark, former federal prosecutor and Baltimore Law professor Kimberly Wehle outlined how the controversial behavior of Bruce Schroeder, the Wisconsin judge who presided over the Kyle Rittenhouse shooting case, highlights a flaw in the U.S. judicial system that is almost unique to countries around the world.
"The vast majority of the approximately 30,000 state judges in the United States — responsible for handling most of the 100 million new state cases each year — are elected, and therefore have qualifications and incentives vastly different from those of judges whose professional futures don't hinge on politics," wrote Wehle. "The blame for the Rittenhouse verdict thus lies not only with the jury, which did its assigned job, but at the feet of eligible voters who care about racial and criminal justice but don't bother to vote in an informed way. To decry criminal injustice but not vote or run for office is misguided, to say the least."
There are many problems and conflicts with the judicial election system. And one, wrote Wehle, that might explain some of Schroeder's controversial behavior could be election pressures.
"The selection of state and local judges varies significantly by state, but scholars explain that, across the board, elected judges 'face strong reelection incentives,' including fundraising pressures," wrote Wehle. "By contrast, appointed judges tend to be selected with 'homogeneous preferences' that reflect the diversity of the populace. This stands to reason: Elected judges must worry about how voters will perceive their rulings else they lose their jobs. The sober judicial role of calling balls and strikes based solely on the facts and the law is distorted by political bias and professional longevity."
READ MORE: MSNBC legal analyst stunned to see Rittenhouse prosecutors violate 'bedrock rules'
Ultimately, concluded Wehle, this case could spur the growing movement of progressives organizing for local judicial races: "perhaps a silver lining in the Rittenhouse matter is that some Americans will wake up even more brightly to the urgency of voting in America — and realize that virtually any and every troubling issue traces back to the ballot box right now, including criminal justice."
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