judgesonmerit.org

We’ve written a lot about the problems with judicial elections and the emphasis judicial elections place on fundraising and campaign skills. The American Bar Association Journal features an article this month that focuses on another key attribute for success in judicial elections: having the right name.

The article covers the troubles faced by a well-regarded judge in Los Angeles County with an unusual name. The political consultant who ran a successful campaign against this judge on behalf of a candidate rated not qualified by the local bar association summed it up perfectly:

People couldn’t pronounce that name, they didn’t know what [ethnicity] she was, and they didn’t know if she was a man or a woman. . . . You couldn’t come up with a worse name if you tried. I knew we could win that race.

This article underlines a point we’ve made before: judicial elections are not designed to focus on qualifications to serve on the bench. They’re about finding the most electable folks, based on fundraising ability, campaign skill and popular appeal — including having the “right” name.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS