Bigger government becomes dumber government becomes mediocre judges

Washington Examiners ^ | SEPTEMBER 18, 2013 | Conn Carroll

[richardb72]

Unless you are a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, you probably have never heard of Lillian BeVier.

BeVier graduated at the top of her class from Stanford Law School in 1965, where she worked as an editor of the prestigious Stanford Law Review. She went on to receive multiple distinguished awards throughout her career in private practice before joining the University of Virginia law faculty in 1973.

By 1991, she was the perfect candidate with ideal credentials when President George H.W. Bush nominated her for a vacancy on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Yet despite assurances from then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Biden, D-Del., BeVier never even got a hearing.

In 2005, BeVier was still “surprised at how exercised [she] can get about it after 12 years,” John Lott reports in his new book, “Dumbing Down The Courts: How Politics Keeps the Smartest Judges Off the Bench.” BeVier told Lott that she “really felt sandbagged by the process.”

But according to Lott, it was exactly BeVier’s stellar resume that kept her from being confirmed. The ferocious growth of government, Lott argues, has made the judicial nomination process an extraordinarily high-stakes game for both parties. . . .

[yldstrk]

conservatives need not apply

[cloudmountain]

Being SMART isn't an indication of being a GOOD judge. It JUST means that she only needs to read the brief once and can understand it instantaneously and perfectly.

I guess she's not smart enough to understand the difference. Could there be some arrogance there? Nah....

[Oatka]

But the Supreme Court does not allow Congress to transfer legislative power to the executive branch without significant judicial oversight.
and
With so many legislative issues now essentially being decided in federal courtrooms, the stakes for lower court judicial nominations have become exponentially higher.

Which makes the courts unelected bureaucrats calling the shots instead of Congress, and perhaps giving said judges a justified sense of power. Working in the shadows of anonymity also helps.