Ruminations: The Desire to Continue in Office
render the best decision I am able, knowing it will not resolve the true problem.”44
Superior judge Geoffrey Crawford, in 2008,
confirmed that “judges learn early that
many people have a great capacity for disappointing the courts.”45 Judge Manley’s
greatest frustration is the “expectation by
society as a whole that somehow the courts
can ‘fix’ all of the ‘ills’ we as a society have
created. Without vigilance, it is too easy to
start to actually believe that you should be
able to do that.”46 She admitted, “I have
made mistakes, and have stumbled from
time to time. Each time that I make a mistake, I try to learn from it, and to avoid repeating it.”
Judge Kupersmith found it remarkable
“that as a society, we place so much responsibility for the lives of strangers in the
hands of a single person, subject only to
appellate review.”47 Judge Morris admitted,
I have certainly not found all of the answers, and the job is certainly a challenge each day. Perhaps if I ever felt
that I did have all of the answers, in
the interests of the people, it would
be time for me not to seek retention
to judicial office.48
The statements perfectly reflect the tension inherent in the retention process. The
statement is a judge’s letter to the legisla-
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ture, the sole opportunity for the judge to
communicate and usually the sole opportunity the legislators have, other than an appearance before the committee, to get to
know the individual they are going to vote
to retain or not. While retention is the likely
outcome, there have been instances where
judicial careers have ended, by a formal
vote not to retain either by the committee
or the joint assembly, and those experiences are not forgotten when a judge writes
out a retention statement.
Negatives
Judges are also candid in describing
the negative aspects of their jobs. Many
write about the fatigue they feel, the isolation, and the frustration. Judge DiMauro, among others, related how she was often called at night and on weekends, and
how “a difficult issue or difficult case often weighs on your mind and invades your
thoughts.”49 She wrote, “Being a judge is
one of the most difficult, emotionally draining, and challenging jobs one can have.”50
In 2004, Judge Eaton complained,
The general public