Sooner or later, a new judge with no personal knowledge of what happened before may make a different decision. There is an even more fundamental reason to break the legal profession's stranglehold over our courts. Given our tripartite system of government in which the judicial branch can nullify the acts of the others, allowing the legal profession to enjoy almost absolute power over our courts invites the arrogance and greed we currently experience. The unhappy result is on daily display in America's courthouses, where few forms, instructions or other consumer-friendly information is available to help consumers accomplish even the simplest legal tasks. And most judges shamelessly shill for their lawyer buddies by telling confused pro pers to see an attorney if they ask for any information beyond the location of the bathroom.
Most judges respond in one of two ways.
Some dust off and enforce unauthorized practice of law statutes passed by lawyer-dominated legislatures in the 1930s. Even worse, in the scurry to put non-lawyers out of business, judges rarely examine the quality of their work. Do away with the requirement that judges must be lawyers. Instead, open up the occupation to all adults who can demonstrate an appropriate level of competence. Appropriate standards of education and work experience should be based on the subject matter to be judged, not some poorly formulated idea that lawyers always know best.