Read the article posted below:
Osibamowo, Toluwani. “Judges who ruled against AG Ken Paxton lost to candidates he supported.” KERA NEWS, 8 March 2024, https://www.keranews.org/politics/2024-03-06/texas-ken-paxton-endorsements-texas-court-of-criminal-appeals-primary
Read Chapter 9 with a special focus on the following sections of the chapter, Chapters/Section numbers 9-4, 9-4a, 9-4b, AND 9-5.
As the student reads the textbook AND all of the articles, the student must gather enough knowledge and information to answer the Main Thesis Question:
You must answer the following Thesis Statement – Should Texas change the Texas judicial election process to a merit based system?
Students should begin their discussion by describing how Texas judges currently earn their judicial position (in the standard judicial election process) and what was the purpose of selecting Texas judges (make certain to explain Jacksonian Democracy).
Next, the student should answer the thesis statement.
Then, students must provide three main points from the textbook article Chapters/Section numbers 9-4, 9-4a, 9-4b, AND 9-5 and the Osibamowo, Toluwani reading in the attempt to validate their thesis.
Students may NOT USE any outside or additional material. In their essay, they may only provide information from the textbook or the articles. If outside material, non-chapter 8 information, and/or other reading materials are used, the student will receive a ZERO for the assignment.
Helpful hint to improve your grade: You should include how other states select their judges, explain the Texas judicial selection merit plan, discuss partisanship, campaign contributions, court diversity, refer to the article in your textbook written by Wallace B. Jefferson entitled, “Choosing Judges: My View from the Inside” in Chapter/Section 9-5, and Ken Paxton’s influence in the most recent Texas judicial primary elections (as discussed in the Osibamowo, Toluwani article.
These points can help you support your thesis for moving away from Texas partisan judicial elections to a merit-based judicial selection system OR these helpful points can support your thesis that the current Texas judicial partisan elections should remain the same. YOU DECIDE, THEN USE THE INFORMATION TO VALIDATE YOUR REASONING.
Students must do the following:
Read the articles.
Read the professor’s questions (located below) related to the articles and the textbook.
Provide an essay answering the question asked by the professor.
The essay must be with each response no less than 4 paragraphs with 5 full sentences required for each paragraph. You can certainly write more if you like.
The essay must be written to cover all of the questions required by the professor.
Students are to label EACH page with their full name, page number, and date.
After completing the handwritten assignment, students need to take pictures of the handwritten essay and post the pictures under the Brightspace Assignments area.
Students are not permitted to submit their essays late.
If the student has ADA requirements, then they may type their response.
If the student has any concerns, PLEASE CONTACT ME.
Any sign of plagiarism, outside assistance, using other’s answers as your own, or signs of cheating will be graded as a Zero. The student will be reported to the Academic Integrity Committee.
Only one quote is permitted in the entire essay. More than 1 quote will result in a Zero.
If the essay is not handwritten, the student will receive a zero for the activity. Contact me for any concerns.
