# Should Supreme Court justices be elected? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 15, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-supreme-court-justices-be-elected/782261 "2017-03-15T21:01:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-supreme-court-justices-be-elected/782261/41 "2017-03-16T15:46:06Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > To the contrary. None of the people he put forth are remotely as unqualified for their respective positions as he himself is for his. That _still_ isn’t evidence that this Congress would filter out bad SC choices. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-supreme-court-justices-be-elected/782261/42 "2017-03-16T15:51:27Z")
OK, I think this is done. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-supreme-court-justices-be-elected/782261/43 "2017-03-16T15:54:50Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > OK, I think this is done. Dead in the water, I’d say. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-supreme-court-justices-be-elected/782261/44 "2017-03-17T14:49:35Z")
I don’t think that anybody seriously thinks that the seat should not be filled until 2020. Anybody saying that is merely trying to illustrate the ridiculousness of it being unfilled during the term of the prior President. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-supreme-court-justices-be-elected/782261/45 "2017-03-17T14:59:20Z")
E-Dub, Well…er…the rationale for delaying was that the election was in progress. Trump has registered his candidacy so the 2020 election process has begun. No worse than the nutso rationale for current delay. Crane ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-supreme-court-justices-be-elected/782261/46 "2017-03-17T15:25:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How about one 10 year term, with the stipulation that they are forever banned from working for any business that came before them in court? I’m thinking an 18 year term. Two years times number of justices actually. Every time one retires the next senior member moves up to Chief Justice. 18 years is kind of long, but we could see much longer than that with young justices and increasing life expectancy. Either way, appointment for life is not practical in the modern world. Occasionally justices will retire or die early, but generally the appointments would happen on a regular and known basis. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-supreme-court-justices-be-elected/782261/47 "2017-03-17T16:11:18Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > E-Dub, > > Well…er…the rationale for delaying was that the election was in progress. Trump has registered his candidacy so the 2020 election process has begun. > > No worse than the nutso rationale for current delay. > > Crane Plus he keeps having campaign rallies where he controls who gets in. No hecklers for him! ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-supreme-court-justices-be-elected/782261/48 "2017-03-17T16:52:34Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > We would end up with 9 Alito’s on the court at the rate the electorate is going. That would be the best case scenario. More likely we would end up with 8 [Roy Moores](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Moore), and a judge Judy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-supreme-court-justices-be-elected/782261.md?page=2)