Judges Votes: Hidden From the Public Eye

American citizens would be outraged if U.S. Senators or Congressman refused to reveal their votes on a bill to the public. But Texas judges do it right before our eyes. Whenever a person appeals a case to the Texas Supreme Court the justices vote on whether to hear the case or not. Many times these votes are about the importance of the case and whether the lower court ruled appropriately on the case, but other times their votes are influenced by personal reasons having nothing to do with justice.
This problem largely stems from the fact that Texas Supreme Court justices are elected in partisan elections. Other methods of electing judges have their pros and cons, but the particular problem with partisan elections is that the judges have to campaign for their seats as justices. In these campaigns as with all other campaigns in politics, money is a crucial part of the equation. When campaigning the justice candidates need campaign contributions, and they need to remain conscious of these contributors as they carry out their jobs. Studies show that campaign contributors are more likely to have their case heard than non-contributors. This means that they are letting the politics affect their decisions on justice. Here lies the problem. Because the votes that justices make are not required to be made public, they rarely are made public. This hides any corruption that may be within the judicial branch of Texas, and citizens are incapable of making an informed decision in their votes for justices.
It is important that Texas make all votes in the Texas Supreme Court and the accessible to the public. This way, Texas citizens can make their votes with access to information on the potential corruption or unfairness of the candidates for Texas Supreme Court justices.