The judicial system would be nonexistent without the judges. They make the final decisions on cases within their jurisdiction. Just like the hierarchy in the political and executive systems defined by the levels of government. The judicial system follows a similar pattern. We have the federal judges, the local judges and the state judges. They all have jurisdiction on different matters and crimes.
Federal Judges
A federal judge serves in the level of the federal government. The highest office that the judges can serve in the federal level is the Supreme Court. Federal judges are appointed by the president, consented by the Senate and they serve up until retirement, impeachment, conviction, resignation or death (Supremecourt.gov, 2015). The federal Supreme Court is usually mandated with constitutional issues.
The Supreme Court judges include the Chief Justice- John G. Roberts who is backed up by eight other justices. The other eight include Antonin Scalia, Antony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Samule A. Alito Jr., Sonia Sotomayor and Elen Kagan (Supremecourt.gov, 2015). All the nine judges are drawn from two religious faiths, the Roman Catholic and the Jews. The CJ is the youngest of them all, born in 1955. They pocket a salary not less than $244,000 annually.
California State Judges
The State of California is raved as the one with the largest judicial system that is fully staffed with law savvy judges. The Supreme Court of California is the court of last resort in the state (Courts.ca.gov, 2015). The court has seven judges, with one of them as the chief justice. In a variety of cases, the court has original jurisdiction.
The judges of the Supreme Court of California are lead by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. The other six justices are Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, Ming Chin, Carol Corrigan, Goodwin Liu, Mariano-Florentino Cuellar, and Leondra Kruger. These are the individuals entrusted with administration of justice in the State of California (Courts.ca.gov, 2015).
Fresno County Judges
The judicial system trickles all the way down to the local level of the county. The leading court is the Superior Court of Fresno County that has the primary mandate to handle cases that are within the county’s jurisdiction and can be handled at state level rather than the federal level. It is one of the 58 superior courts in California (Courts.ca.gov, 2015). The court has over forty judges, both appointed and elected. The governor has a big hand in the appointment of the judges. The judges take home a salary in the region of $180,000 per year.
Conclusion
The judicial system of the United States is well established. Unlike the executive where there is quite some power overlap and duties repetition, the judicially is well run and established. The courts understand well their duties and responsibilities. About 95% of crime cases in the US are tried in the state’s courts as the states like dealing with matters affecting their citizens hands-on. The most critical matters are handled by the federal courts if they affect more than one state, or if they draw national interest. The judicially is seemingly a lucrative venture for the law experts. The pays are huge perks by any means. The separation of powers of the three arms of government may have been great contributor to the efficiency of the judicial system.
Works Cited
Courts.ca.gov,. ‘California Judicial Branch – CA_Courts’. N.p., 2015. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
Supremecourt.gov,. ‘Biographies Of Current Justices Of The Supreme Court’. N.p., 2015. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
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