judgesonmerit.org

Walter Olson of Point of Law and Overlawyered offers a thoughtful analysis of the problems with judicial elections and the reasons why he is ” not at all convinced that electioneering and noisy public campaigns make a good way of selecting judges.” Olson expounds that:

Judges seeking election or re-election face constant pressure to “commit” to stances favored by one or another voting bloc. They are asked to stand by while their supporters, strategists and handlers run campaigns on simplistic themes (“tough on crime”) or demagogically rail at cases in which the adversary has taken a position favorable to some unpopular party, whatever its technical legal merit. Worst of all, big-bucks campaigns put judges in a position of having to raise money from lawyers who practice in their courts and from parties interested in the outcomes of litigation.

We think he’s hit the nail on the head identifying the problems with electing judges. We know people disagree about the best way to fix these problems, but we’re just glad to see folks talking about it.

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