judgesonmerit.org

An editorial in the  Wisconsin State Journal urges the adoption of Merit Selection in the face of increasing concerns about the role of money in judicial elections and the pressure on judges to state their opinions during judicial campaigns.  In fact, there is now a pending recusal motion based on a Supreme Court justice’s campaign trail statements about sentencing decisions and procedural issues in criminal cases. The editorial notes:

[The recusal] request points to the serious consequences when judicial elections become charged with politics and outside money, as Wisconsin’s have. Justices who are supposed to be accountable for upholding the law instead become accountable for campaign promises.
More ominously, justices risk becoming accountable to the interests who bankroll their multi-million-dollar campaigns.

The stakes are described by the question: Is Wisconsin getting the best impartial justice it can provide, or is it getting the most partial justice that well-financed, partisan interests can buy?

Studies across the nation reveal decreasing public confidence in the courts, in large part due to the role of money in judicial campaigns.  It is crucial to maintain the public trust in the fairness and impartiality of our courts.  Without that trust, the foundation of our system is undermined.

Why continue to use a system of judicial selection that results in a lack of public confidence in our judges and courts?  The Wisconsin State Journal has a good solution for Wisconsin and Pennsylvania: “Reform is required. Merit selection is the right choice.”

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