On an excursion to Paris earlier this year, a 10-judge delegation from the Illinois Judges Association got an up-close look at the French trial court system. Judges there aren’t elected. They go to judicial colleges like electricians go to trade school. They use panels of three during trials, and they take a much more active role in prosecutions. “It was almost like the judges were questioning the defendant. They did the investigation, saying ‘you did this’ and ‘you did that,&rsquo …