Judges inferior to the Supreme Court (those established by Congress) should no longer be appointed by the President, but rather through a completely new institution.
Federal Barr Association
Whether by constitutional amendment or simple congressional legislation, an official and legally binding American Barr Association (which I will call the “Federal Barr Association,” or FBA), similar to one’s of the state governments, should be established. This Barr association should be lead by a principal Officer and be independent to the Executive and Legislative branches, similar to the Federal Reserve Bank. The actual power of this new association will be lead with a Board of Governors.
Judicial Commission
The actual confirmation of new inferior Judges will be handled by a new nine member Judicial Commission chosen from the specific backgrounds:
- 3x merit-based members of the FBA
- “Merit” being those who are members of the Board of Governors of the FBA (or equivalent in this “legally binding” Barr association).
- 3x Scholars of Federal law (non-practicing)
- 3x Top three longest serving inferior court judges
The Board of Governors will have the power to create two separate lists of ten nominees for President of the FBA and members (merit-based and scholars) to the Judicial Commission, which then the President of the United States should pick from for nomination. After, the Senate will confirm the nomination from the President by three fifths (60 out of 100).
Inferior Judges on the board are simply determined by who’s the top three longest serving judges in the entire federal court system.
The terms of the first two groups should be staggered, similar to those of other agencies (Board on the CDC) by four years, with such terms off by two years from the President (e.g. Presidential election 2028, Board member election 2030).
The Board will elected a leader to the Board that is a member of the Board. This leader will serve a six year non-renewable term and have the power to nominate inferior Judges, which then the Board as a whole will vote on.
The Board will need a vote of two-thirds members to confirm a inferior Judge (not 5/9 because one member is the leader and obviously they vote to confirm the judge they pick).
The Senate may still remove an inferior judge from their post with the current impeachment process, but the Senate may also remove a member from this board with a three-fourths majority.
The Board may remove an inferior judge from their post, but such removal must be done with a unanimous consent from the Board rather than simple majority.
Purpose
The reasons for this new system are as follows:
- Reduce political influence on the inferior courts.
- Make nominating inferior courts “boring” and not high stakes.
- Prevent random political wins from the President.
These changes are also best done with my Supreme Court reform.