<instructions>Your goal is to analyze the following comment and estimate how highly it will be upvoted by the Hacker News community.</instructions><comment><author>pmoriarty</author><text>The problem isn&amp;#x27;t that judges are elected, but that it&amp;#x27;s nearly impossible for voters to make an informed decision.&lt;p&gt;In the last election, I tried to find out about the local judges on my ballot and could find virtually nothing.&lt;p&gt;The media has been neutered in to an infotainment machine, so there&amp;#x27;s very little investigative journalism left even on issues of national or international importance, much less on small issues like who your local judges are and how they rule.</text><parent_chain><item><author>meddlepal</author><text>This is the kind of stupidity you get with elected judges.</text></item><item><author>chidog12</author><text>&amp;gt; Judge Les Hayes once sentenced a single mother to 496 days behind bars for failing to pay traffic tickets. The sentence was so stiff it exceeded the jail time Alabama allows for negligent homicide.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; Johnson’s three children were cast into foster care while she was incarcerated. One daughter was molested, state records show. Another was physically abused.&lt;p&gt;Speechless... Makes my blood boil</text></item></parent_chain></comment><story><title>Thousands of U.S. judges who broke laws, oaths remained on the bench</title><url>https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-judges-misconduct-specialreport/special-report-thousands-of-us-judges-who-broke-laws-oaths-remained-on-the-bench-idUSKBN2411WG</url></story>
<instructions>Your goal is to analyze the following comment and estimate how highly it will be upvoted by the Hacker News community.</instructions><comment><author>mcv</author><text>Is it true that all US judges are either elected or politically appointed? Both seem like a terrible idea.&lt;p&gt;I admit I don&amp;#x27;t know how judges in other countries are appointed, but I think it usually involves a pretty thorough screening process involving several different requirements and organisations.</text><parent_chain><item><author>meddlepal</author><text>This is the kind of stupidity you get with elected judges.</text></item><item><author>chidog12</author><text>&amp;gt; Judge Les Hayes once sentenced a single mother to 496 days behind bars for failing to pay traffic tickets. The sentence was so stiff it exceeded the jail time Alabama allows for negligent homicide.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; Johnson’s three children were cast into foster care while she was incarcerated. One daughter was molested, state records show. Another was physically abused.&lt;p&gt;Speechless... Makes my blood boil</text></item></parent_chain></comment><story><title>Thousands of U.S. judges who broke laws, oaths remained on the bench</title><url>https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-judges-misconduct-specialreport/special-report-thousands-of-us-judges-who-broke-laws-oaths-remained-on-the-bench-idUSKBN2411WG</url></story>