Federal Judiciary Quotes
Jefferson, like most Presidents and ex-presidents, had his concerns about the judiciary and judicial checks, especially of the Executive Branch.
The letter was written to Walsh, a partner in a major Wall Street firm who controlled the committee, American Bar Association president Bernard Segal, and past president William Gossett
In America, the best attorneys have stayed in private practice where they could make much more money than government service or become professors and scholars of law. In either case, most have a track record that would make Senate confirmation difficult even if they wanted to be Federal Judges. A few like Abraham Lincoln went into politics. The Supreme Court is somewhat of an exception because of the power it wields, but even then many great attorneys have not been so inclined. Federal judges have usually been above average as attorneys, but not among the greatest.
This was the most eloquent acknowledgement of the import and difficult job of the Federal Disctrict Judges--the backbone of the Federal Judiciary who are oftetn over looked in favor of the appellate judges and Supreme Court judges who deal with cases as a group and always have the privelege of reviewing and second guessing the work of the district judges who first had to decide the issue on way or the other.
Surprising to many is the fact that the Federal Courts did not automatically get established when a new state joined the Union. Congress had to legally reorganize the Federal Court structure and appropriate additional money. In addition Senators then were elected by the State Legislatures who were not anxious to have any Federal Legal presence in their state if they could avoid it, as it might interfere with their State Court system. The Constitution provided for the Federal Courts but left it up to Congress to decide on all the details. It would not be until after the Civil War that the Federal Courts were very active in all States.
