That is why we give federal judges life tenure and why we make it hard to remove judges. A judge who worries that an unpopular ruling will yield a pink slip is more likely to trade in our constitutional rights for his own job security. Boot, supposedly a libertarian, never mentions this history or even the role judges play in protecting our rights. Our constitutional structure, notes Boot repeatedly, grants judges power without accountability. True, once appointed, lifetime judges are not accountable to us , but that does not mean they are free to do whatever they want.
Higher courts sit to ensure that judges apply the law correctly.
Don't get me wrong. As a former public defender, I have too many judge-inflicted battle scars to deny that some judges can sometimes be vicious and arrogant. Some of Boot's complaints are worthy of sober discussion. But that is precisely what Boot does not deliver. Instead, Out of Order reads more like an overstuffed tabloid.