Instapundit reviews Electing Justice

Glenn Reynolds, blogger of Instapundit fame, reviewed Electing Justice by Richard Davis in the NYPost on Sunday.

Davis notes that there have been various proposals for reform but thinks that radical surgery is called for. He suggests that Supreme Court justices be elected by the public for a single 18-year term with no possibility of reelection.

This would provide adequate insulation from political pressure and acknowledge that Supreme Court appointments have become a political, not a technocratic, act. There’s certainly precedent: "Most states," he notes, "have long since abandoned the federal model of noninvolvement by the electorate."

When it comes to tinkering with the Constitution, I’m a small-c conservative – if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. But the confirmation process is a mess. I don’t think much of the prospect of judicial campaign commercials, but those, sadly, are already a reality, as interest groups roll out TV ads boosting or assailing John Roberts. Should we give up on dignity and go for democracy, instead? What would happen?

LINK to entire review at the NYPost. (Registration available via bugmenot.com.)