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An editorial in the Badger Herald expresses concern about the upcoming judicial elections in Wisconsin and argues for a better way to pick judges:

[O]ur next state Supreme Court election will indeed follow directly in the footsteps of the previous two, which gained national attention for their corrosive effect on the stature of our judicial system. Once again, the voters of Wisconsin will decide the composition of our state’s highest court based on partisanship and politics, rather than qualifications and merits.

The editorial goes on to discuss the reason why Supreme Court justices should be selected in a different way than members of the legislature:

[It] comes down to the fundamental purpose they serve in a democratic government. While the Legislature is intended to act as a hired hand for the majority, the state Supreme Court serves only to interpret and enforce the respective laws of the state as well as the state and federal constitutions, regardless of what popular opinion thinks about it. In electing justices, we risk convoluting these distinct roles and in so doing, opening the door to what critics of democracy said would cause it to fail and friends feared it would produce — a tyranny of the majority.

The author criticizes the focus of judicial elections on issues that have little relevance to a Supreme Court justice’s actual judicial work as well as the increasingly expensive nature of the elections and the growing participation of outside groups in the process.

The editorial concludes with a call for change and identifies Merit Selection as the best solution: “It is, quite plainly, our state’s best option, and the only viable way to ensure the integrity of our state’s highest court — a goal worthy of top priority.”

We agree: ensuring that we use the best possible process to select our appellate judges should be a top priority of our leaders and the public. We hope it soon will be in Pennsylvania.

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