A10152-Day 3-BidenShouldNominate

For many libertarians, a Biden presidency could mean harsher crackdowns on drugs and more funding into law enforcement, given the lifelong politician’s past position on these issues. But there is one glimmer of hope on the judicial front. The Biden team is now looking to ramp up the professional diversity to the federal bench by bringing in judicial candidates with experiences as criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, and civil rights litigators. This could be the start of a long-overdue reform of the federal courts, which have often been criticized for its imbalanced proportion of judges who used to represent the government in court and judges who used to battle the government there. In cases where individuals are pitted against the state in a David-versus-Goliath fight for justice,  a prosecutor-turned-judge is more likely to take the side of Goliath. Hence by reconsidering the status quo and appointing more public defenders to the federal bench, Biden might be able to turn the page and make a substantive difference to the justice system.