The scales of female pine cones produce a sticky substance. what function might this serve?

the framers of the constitution insisted that federal judges be nominated instead of elected due to their desire to have judges above the shifting whims of the masses.

the hope, whether achieved or not, was that federal judges would only be beholden to the law and that by not having judges be elected, they would be protected if that law dictated an outcome that ran counter to popular opinion.