Dec 04 2009
Merit Selection Hearing Monday in Harrisburg
On Monday December 7, the Courts Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the pending Merit Selection legislation. The hearing will be at 10:00 am in Room G50, Irvis Office, Capitol Building.
Testifying in support of implementing a Merit Selection system for the Pennsylvania appellate courts will be Robert Heim, Lynn Marks and Shira Goodman of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts and PMCAction, J. Whyatt Mondesire of the NAACP, Dave Taylor of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association and Charlotte Glauser of the League of Women Voters of PA.
The hearing is the first step in the process of moving forward with legislation to amend the constitution. We hope this process will allow Pennsylvanians to have an important dialogue about whether we should change the way we select appellate court judges.
We know from polls and surveys and from low voter turn-out that there is great concern about the role of money in judicial elections. We also know that Pennsylvanians have been losing confidence in our courts and judges. We believe Merit Selection — which focuses on getting the most qualified, fair and impartial judges on the appellate courts and gets judges out of the fundraising business — will be a significant factor in restoring public confidence in our courts.
Tags: Charlotte Glauser, Dave Taylor, House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Courts, J. Whatt Mondesire, judicial elections, League of Women Voters of PA, Lynn Marks, Merit Selection, NAACP, Pennsylvania Manufacturer's Association, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts and PMCAction, Robert Heim, Shira Goodman
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[...] The testimony, which can be read here, was sent to a House Judiciary subcommittee that is holding a hearing Dec. 7 on the merit selection plan. The plan is backed by Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, which has more at its Judges on Merit blog. [...]