Sep 22 2009
Praise from an Unusual Corner
Usually judicial candidates — even those who support Merit Selection — are hesitant to criticize the electoral process or call for reform during the election season. But yesterday, Supreme Court candidate (and current Superior Court Judge) Jack Panella, in an address to the Pennsylvania Press Club, noted that he believes there is a better way to select judges in Pennsylvania. As the Associated Press reports:
Panella said he respects the efforts of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, a group[] that advocates that state appellate judges be appointed by the governor from a list recommended by a public commission.
He says he strongly supports the concept because it would take fundraising and political bosses out of the selection process.
Judge Panella’s comments underscore some of the big problems of the judicial election system. Because he speaks with inside, first-hand knowledge of the process, his comments about the role of money and politics are particulary instructive. If a judge who’s already been elected to one appellate court and is now running again for a seat on the highest court of the state thinks the process needs reform, maybe it’s time for more work to be done to ensure that Pennsylvania uses the best system to select appellate judges.
Tags: Associated Press, Jack Panella, judicial elections, Merit Selection, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, PMC
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Amen Judge Panella. Best of luck to you and your campaign. I am certainly going to be voting for you.
[...] check out PMConline. You can read more about Panella’s support for merit selection reading this commentary at “Choose Judges on Merit,” the PMC blog. 1 comment Email This [...]
Juanita,
Thanks for writing. We’re glad you agree that Merit Selection is a better way to select judges. We want to note that Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, PMCAction and JudgesOnMerit do not endorse any candidates for judicial office.