Comments on Advance Indiana™: Law School Grades Don't Matter In Supreme Court Selection

I gotta go with Paul somewhat on this one, and I g...

2012-07-20T19:10:43.626-05:00

I gotta go with Paul somewhat on this one, and I graduated cum laude. I saw the list showing the breakdown of who got the highest grades. Some of those people you really, really do not want to see on any court, let alone an appellate one. There's more to qualifications than grades.

No Gary, I know what you mean, but as a judge, the...

2012-07-20T11:50:42.506-05:00

No Gary, I know what you mean, but as a judge, there is some kind of "track record".

Of course, some kinds or records might be what "the deciders" are really looking at.

Too bad that the process of retention isn't done in some other manner.

Varian, I'd rather see judges drawn from any p...

2012-07-20T09:38:47.281-05:00

Varian, I'd rather see judges drawn from any pool of attorneys, except judges. Judges are almost always politically elevated to their positions.

The grades shouldn't matter. Law school isn...

2012-07-20T09:36:58.188-05:00

The grades shouldn't matter. Law school isn't real school. There's one exam at the end of the class, and the grades are either wholly random or reflective of the student's alignment with the instructor's views.

You presuppose that our judicial system for select...

2012-07-20T06:54:38.933-05:00

You presuppose that our judicial system for selecting trial court judges in not flawed.

The validity of "grades" can be argued b...

2012-07-20T06:29:34.483-05:00

The validity of "grades" can be argued back and forth. Certainly, they can be an indicator of several potential factors that might be important when considering one for a judgeship.
Still, I would posit that an attorney's track record outside of Law School might prove more useful, especially if said attorney has previously been a judge.

Speaking as someone who graduated in the top ten p...

2012-07-20T06:23:02.341-05:00

Speaking as someone who graduated in the top ten percent of my class, I couldn't disagree more, Paul. I found undergrad grading a complete joke in a lot of classes because the means of grading often permitted high percentages of the class to earn As and Bs.

I'm sorry, Gary, I have to disagree. I think ...

2012-07-19T23:49:42.956-05:00

I'm sorry, Gary, I have to disagree. I think grades in law school are a joke. To this day, I have never understood why some students get high grades, and other get low grades. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to the grades, like there was in college and high school.