Breaking News: Chief Judge William Wilkins of the Fourth Circuit Takes Senior Status
Wow. This means big changes on the Fourth Circuit. Here is the scoop.
Rumor is that he will run for governor in SC in 2010.
November 30, 2006
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November 30th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
I am genuinely puzzled as to why anyone would leave a federal judgeship to run for governor of anyplace. I mean, in both cases, there are people expecting you to do the impossible…but in the governorship, those people can fire you when you fail to pull it off.
November 30th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
“I am genuinely puzzled as to why anyone would leave a federal judgeship to run for governor of anyplace.”
Agreed. For my money, there’s no better job than a federal district court judgeship — I would prefer it to a circuit judgeship because, as a district judge, I wouldn’t have to coordinate with other judges on opinion-writing, etc…my own little feifdom
December 1st, 2006 at 1:10 am
Don’t discount the lure of the political patronage that a governor can dispense, in even a single term. In addition, there is the attraction of being a hands-on initiator of public policy rather than an arbiter between contesting parties.
Much federal litigation is mundane. A governor can delegate less desirable tasks; a district judge ordinarily cannot.
Moreover, depending on one’s temperament, the visibility and prestige of the office of governor may be more appealing that continuing to sit on the bench.