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An editorial in the Wisconsin State Journal argues that the state’s election system is not the best way to pick judges. In fact, the editorial calls the judicial election system “nasty and broken.”

Anticipating another bitter election fight and misleading advertisements based on one candidate’s past employment as a public defender, the editorial predicts a replay of the last election’s nasty campaign ads:

To her credit, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson has pledged not to exploit [opposing candidate Randy] Koschnick’s work as a public defender, which she called noble, according to the Associated Press this week. Koschnick is challenging Abrahamson for a 10-year term.

But shadowy special interest groups aren’t likely to follow Abrahamson’s example. Liberal groups mad about the ads that smeared Justice Louis Butler for his work as a public defender last year can now turn the tables by attacking Koschnick, a self-described conservative, for the same supposed offense.

This raises the familiar concerns about third-party spending to influence judicial elections and the increasingly negative tone of such campaigns.  These are serious problems that contribute to decreasing confidence in the impartiality and independence of the courts:

The personal attacks and gutter politics are a disgraceful way for Wisconsin to pick its top court. The quality and independence of the state’s Supreme Court is slipping along with public trust in its decisions.

Selecting justices based on merit — rather than mudslinging — is the answer.

Well put.

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