I think people forget that judges are appointed by elected officials who are acting on their behalf. They either forget this, or are unsatisfied with it due to the incredibly small ability this system grants any individual person (by design).

The idea is that a judge will act on behalf of those who appointed him/her, who are in turn acting on behalf of those who elected him/her. If you want something to happen differently, elect someone different. That's your only mechanism for change in this current system.