judgesonmerit.org

An editorial in the Times-Tribune (Scranton) makes the case for replacing judicial elections with Merit Selection for the appellate courts.  Exhibit A is the current partisan — and in the last few days nasty — race between Republican Joan Orie Melvin and Democrat Jack Panella for the vacancy on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court:

Judge Orie Melvin lamented during a recent debate that Judge Panella is heavily backed by trial lawyers, who have donated about [$1 million] to his campaign. But she has received about [$125,000} from trial lawyers, so the offense apparently is one of degree rather than commission.

That points to one of the key problems with appellate judicial elections: they are funded primarily by people who are likely to appear in court before the winning candidate, or who have frequent business before the appellate courts. . . .

There would be no large donors if judges were appointed based on qualifications.

The editorial goes on to talk about how the electoral process overly politicizes judges who are supposed to be above politics.  Focusing on the upcoming legislative redistricting and the political parties’ emphasis on the importance of the Supreme Court election (see, e.g., Karl Rove ‘s piece in today’s Wall Street Journal) and the ultimate numbers of Republicans and Democrats on the Supreme Court, the editorial argues: “That shouldn’t matter, but in Harrisburg it’s all that matters.”

Finally, the editorial reminds us that voters often lack relevant information about the candidates, therefore leading to random and irrelevant factors such as ballot position, county of residence, gender, name recognition, and political party influencing who reaches the bench.

The Times-Tribune closes with this impressive claim: “Because we favor merit selection, The Times-Tribune does not endorse appellate judicial candidates.” We appreciate the support for Merit Selection and thank the editorial board for clearly demonstrating why this current election makes the case for reform.

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