What are the pros and cons of electing judges?

Pros:

• Electing judges results in a judiciary that is
  more responsive to public concerns, less out of touch with what the people want. It's all too
  easy for an unelected judiciary to lose sight of what's in the best interests of the community
  as a whole and serve its own narrow interests.
• Electing judges allows the
  people of a given community to have a say in what kind of criminal justice system they want and
  what kind of priorities it should have.

Cons:

• Electing judges undermines the rule of law. Legal cases should be decided
  on legal principles, not according to what's popular with the voters.


• Judges are there to interpret and apply the law; that's their job. Unlike elected
  politicians, they are not there to serve the interests of the people directly. They do so
  indirectly through a fair and consistent application of the law.