Qualified for the Job

This article ran in the New York Times last September, so I'm a bit late in posting about it. I'm just sharing it because it provokes an interesting dilemma in the challenge of having work done by experts or 'the elite' vs. doing it through the application of common sense. the article is here, with original headline: In Tiny Courts of N.Y., Abuses of Law and Power - New York Times

The superficial view is simple. Judges should be qualified and know the basic tenets of the constitution and laws they are (ostensibly) using to guide their decisions in cases. With that said, I strongly believe in the discretion of the judiciary. I also see that there is a benefit served by having a system that is not solely controlled by one group of people in society. In this case the danger is that as law (and its interpretation)becomes increasingly complex it can function to serve the class of lawyers more than the function of preserving order in society.

It will be interesting to see what New York does to address this situation.