United States Judge Positions

In order to obtain this a career as a Judge in the Criminal Justice System, a minimum of a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and work experience is required. Judgeship positions are very competitive in the job market due to the prestige that is received upon accepting this position of residing on the bench (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006).

The salary of a judge depends upon what type of cases that the judge will preside over. Judgeship positions are held in Circuit Court, District Court, Court of International Trade, Federal Claims, Bankruptcy, and Magistrate, and Appellate divisions. The salaries of a judge can typically range from $54, 760 a year to $200,000 a year. In addition to salaries, judges receive benefits such as health, dental, and life insurance. Other additional benefits include expense accounts, pension plans, paid holidays and sick pay (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006).

Judges are responsible for applying the law appropriately and to oversee legal proceedings that come before his or her courts. On a typical day in court a judge may do a variety of different tasks such as making rulings in cases or settling disputes between the attorneys involved with the case, traffic offenses, pre-trial motions, jury selection, or a variety of other offenses. Judges will make sure that all rules are followed in a proceeding or interpret the law to determine the fair and just way to proceed. Judges also spend time in their offices deliberating or reading case briefs (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006).

The Model code of judicial conduct was developed by the American Bar Association on April 5, 1973
Canon one states that "A judge should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary" (ABA, 2007). This canon explains that judges are held to a higher standard of conduct than any other legal entity and judges should be on their best behavior at all times, even in their personal lives, and they should remain this way throughout their careers on the bench.

Canon Two states that "A judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities" (ABA, 2007). Canon two further explains canon one by stating that not only should they be on their best behavior, but they should not affiliate themselves with other entities, such as organizations, which practices discrimination for any reason. It also has a provision for not allowing family members to be influential in their decisions.

Canon Three states "A judge should perform the duties of the office impartially and diligently" (ABA, 2007). Canon three asks that judges be speedy, diligent, fair and respectful in their adjudicative and administrative responsibilities. This covers all aspects of a judge's duties including the disqualification process when there is a conflict of interest present.

Canon four states "A judge may engage in extra-judicial activities to improve the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice" (ABA, 2007). This canon explains what "law-related" activities that the judge is allowed to participate; activities such as in teaching, writing, or lecturing.

Canon Five states "A judge should regulate extra-judicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict of interest" (ABA, 2007). This canon elaborated further on canon four by offering a guideline on what organizations or clubs a judge may be affiliated with because as stated in canon two, a judge must be careful not to affiliate themselves with any organizations that may cause the judge to form a bias opinion.

Canon six "A judge should regularly file reports of compensation received for law-related and extra-judicial activities" (ABA, 2007). This canon allows the judge to be reimbursed for law-related activities and explains specific reimbursements that are allowed to be claimed that are regulations that were set forth by the Judicial Conference.

Canon seven states "A judge should refrain from political activity" (ABA, 2007). Being that politics is a touchy subject for American's for variety's of reasons, a judge must not engage in political activity because it would almost certainly call into question whether the judge could remain un- bias.

A normal activity that politicians do is to solicit for campaign funds and contributions toward their efforts of getting elected into a particular office. If a republican approached a judge and asked him to make a contribution to their funds and because the judge and republican were good friends, the judge did, it would be unethical in the eyes of the moral conduct code because it can cause a variety of ethical issues and problems (Pollock, 2004).

One major problem is that the judge's cases could be appealed or convictions could be overturned if the lawyers used the excuse that he convicted them based on the fact that they were democrats. In addition to this, lawyers would also use the appearance of bias to have cases removed from that court because their client is a democrat or vice versa, wanting to get on his docket because they feel they could win because their client is a republican. Our society demands that our judges remain impartial in order to have a fair hearing, which is guaranteed by our rights, and if society believes that the judge "has less-admirable personal values, they can not judge others objectively" (Pollock, 2004).

Another potential dilemma that a judge may face in this line of work is conflict of interest. Varieties of different judges preside over different cases across the country and in small town America where most of the cases are presided over by one judge who lives in a town where everybody knows everybody. In these cases, the Model code of conduct can serve them as a guide because they would be put in a variety of positions where the thoughts of impropriety can exist.

Judges in small towns must limit their activities and pay very close attention to their associations. A judge in this position might find themselves having to send cases out of his or her district if the person who comes before them is related in any way. In addition to this, people in town may accuse or think that the judge is bias by lower class citizens who claim that the judge thinks that they are above them, even though they are.

Judgeship positions will be in high demand in years to come due to population expansion which provides more traffic offenses, more crime, and more civil lawsuits as people become more familiar with our court systems. Judges are very important legal entities and are held to a high ethical standard in the society in which they serve ((Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006).

In my opinion, it takes a special person to take a judgeship position, as it requires that a person give up certain personal rights such as the freedom of speech. It is hard in today's society to have un-bias opinions as there are so many rights, options, and opinions in our world. It really does take an honorable person to uphold the law and dispense justice with the utmost fairness and respect for others no matter what age, race, gender, religion, or sexual preference they may be. I can only hope one day to become a judge in the United States.