Reply
Sun 25 May, 2008 11:28 am
Has the Supreme Court of the United States or other American courts had judges who were not also lawyers?
Qualifications for a Judgeship
TilleyWink-
Would you tell me the name(s)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States#Composition
Also, look up who's been on the Supreme Court. It's really not a super-long list. I doubt that there are any non-lawyers on the list but would not be super-duper shocked.
I only answered part of the question. The US Supreme Court has never had a non lawyer justice. But many state supreme courts and municipal courts have had non lawyers on the bench.
It seems like it would be a mess to have a non lawyer judge trying to enforce legal rules but I guess it happens sometimes at the state level.
Magistrates do not need to be lawyers; perhaps that's what you're thinking of?
Qualifications for a Judgeship
jespah-
The U.S. Constitution doesn't stipulate that a Supreme Court of the U.S. justice be a lawyer. I wondered if any were not lawyers.