Jan 06 2010
Texans Note Pennsylvania’s Expensive Judicial Elections and Call for Merit Selection in Lone Star State
A newspaper in Fort-Worth, Texas published an editorial this past Friday challenging Texans to reconsider the way they select judges. Noting that Texas has the dubious distinction of being “among a handful of states that elect all their judges in partisan elections” (along with Pennsylvania, Alabama, West Virginia, Illinois, and Louisiana), the paper calls on its citizens to “use this next year to examine and debate a new judicial selection system that the state legislature can adopt when it meets in 2011.”
The editorial noted that in some states “where judicial elections have devolved into money-driven battles of ugly TV ads,” including Pennsylvania, “sentiment for change is building.” The perception of the role of money in elections is a primary reason for a change to Merit Selection. After citing the $4.5 million spent on the recent Supreme Court race in PA as reported by PMC, the paper noted:
The biggest problem is that judges and candidates for the bench must raise campaign money primarily from lawyers, groups and individuals who might have cases before those same courts. In statewide races, the sums can be enormous. It leaves the public wondering whether money is buying influence.
Referencing other problems with electing judges, the Star-Telegram asked rhetorically:
Who doesn’t want fairness, impartiality and justice when they go into court?
Who doesn’t want qualified, capable, independent judges deciding disputes?
Who honestly believes that the only way to achieve that is to elect judges through expensive campaigns that do more to undermine public confidence than to provide voter education about the judiciary?
Good questions. The first step in the process was set in motion at a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee’s Sub-Committee on Courts late last year. If the state houses pass the legislation currently before committee in two consecutive sessions, the voters will have the ultimate say whether to amend the state constitution to make this important change to the way we select judges.
Tags: judicial elections, Merit Selection, Texas
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