Having been a plaintiff in a civil case, with thankfully only money on the line, it was a real eye opener for me of how little the jurors actually get to see, and how much power a single judge has (read: a LOT). It really made me reflect on how absolutely awful and terrifying it must be to have your freedom on the line, and to witness something like I did that felt horrifyingly unfair, and know you could go to jail for it. And I know it happens, a lot, and disproportionately to black and brown folk no less.
I wonder if that is part of it. As the country has gotten less white, we hear (or maybe care) more about bias-induced injustice, and it’s harder for the declining majority to be complacent when “blame the Black guy” gets a court to give you what you want. Local, elected judges have always been a partisan nightmare, but I feel like it’s really the last 10 years, since they eliminated the filibuster for federal judges, and especially since 2017 for SCOTUS, that national courts have lost credibility.
Having been a plaintiff in a civil case, with thankfully only money on the line, it was a real eye opener for me of how little the jurors actually get to see, and how much power a single judge has (read: a LOT). It really made me reflect on how absolutely awful and terrifying it must be to have your freedom on the line, and to witness something like I did that felt horrifyingly unfair, and know you could go to jail for it. And I know it happens, a lot, and disproportionately to black and brown folk no less.
I wonder if that is part of it. As the country has gotten less white, we hear (or maybe care) more about bias-induced injustice, and it’s harder for the declining majority to be complacent when “blame the Black guy” gets a court to give you what you want. Local, elected judges have always been a partisan nightmare, but I feel like it’s really the last 10 years, since they eliminated the filibuster for federal judges, and especially since 2017 for SCOTUS, that national courts have lost credibility.