One school of thought among the critics also holds that, if judicial review is not itself democratic, it should nonetheless link itself to public consent in some way . . . In summary, when judges make their decisions too far from the popular will they become unquestionably anti-democratic and their decisions become impossible to justify. That brings us to the second question. Though judges do not run for office, they cannot help being mindful of public attitudes of the community in which they reside or with which they have close contact. Close contact between any member of the judiciary and the public is difficult.
Judges go to great length to avoid the appearance of bias or favoritism to any group or cause.
To the knowledge of this writer, no one has ever polled the citizens of Arizona, California, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands to determine their familiarity with Ninth Circuit Judges. It is extremely difficult to know the President of the United States. If one will make a little effort, it is quite easy to know Senator Conrad Burns and Senator Max Baucus and for them to know us. It is very difficult for a Montana attorney to know Procter Hug. It is not very difficult for a Montana attorney to know J. A. Turnage, Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice and for him to know community attitudes.