judgesonmerit.org

The Jewish Social Policy Action Network (JSPAN) announced yesterday that it is officially endorsing a change to the Pennsylvania Constitution that would provide for merit selection of appellate judges in the commonwealth. The full text of the resolution is below:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JEWISH SOCIAL POLICY ACTION NETWORK

RESOLUTION ON MERIT SELECTION OF JUDGES

Pennsylvania is one of a few states that choose all their judges in political elections.

Races for election to the appellate courts – the Supreme Court, Superior Court and Commonwealth Court – are statewide efforts requiring large sums of money, sometimes running into millions of dollars.  Candidates seek endorsements from the political parties in each county, and also donations that typically come from lawyers who may appear before them after they are elected. Candidates lose the appearance of independence in the process.  The recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission may be extended to state races, introducing corporate funding and even more potential for the real or apparent compromise of judicial candidates.

Despite the endorsements, spending and campaigning, few voters other than lawyers know much about the individual candidates or their qualifications.

Only the most qualified individuals – based on legal skill, experience, temperament and reputation for fairness, impartiality and independence – should become judges.  The system for selection of judges needs to focus on that goal.

JSPAN endorses changing the state constitution to provide for the merit selection of judges of our appellate courts through a process that avoids the need for political endorsements, campaigning or major fund raising by the candidates.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trackback URI | Comments RSS