Impressed with a conviction that the due administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good Government, I have considered the first arrangement of the Judicial department as essential to the happiness of our Country, and to the stability of its political system; hence the selection of the fittest characters to expound the law, and dispense justice, has been an invariable object of my anxious concern.
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What Jefferson called the greatest commentary on Government ever written, organized by topic!
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What Jefferson called the greatest commentary on Government ever written, organized by topic!
I would suggest that the “fittest characters” are those who have settled their eternal state with the Creator.
Would that this be the chief and anxious concern of the administration and the congress. Rather to the shame of all, they advanced the concept of candidates without legal or judicial background/qualification. How can such competently expound the law, and dispense justice; how could such baseless appointees contribute to the stability of this nation’s political FOUNDATION?
The funny thing is that Article 3 does not include a legal background as a requirement to be a justice or federal judge. Did the Founders just figure that was a given, like saying the person must be alive? I mean, if you want a good judge then you are going to pick someone who knows what they are doing. But then if you want someone who is going to legislate from the bench, a legal background might actually be a hinderance.