Jan 11 2011
The Price of Admission
A short piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer asks what the “price of admission” will be for this year’s local judicial elections. The cost in question is the contribution required to secure the endorsement of the Democratic City Committee. This single question sums up the major problems with judicial elections: they emphasize fundraising and political prowess over qualifications to serve. This is not unique to Philadelphia (though the political contribution requirement may be more upfront here). Lawyers seeking to serve as judges must make nice to the political committees –county and statewide — to earn the coveted party nomination — a key step to winning the primary election.
There should be no “price of admission.” Qualified lawyers with reputations for fairness, honesty, and ethical behavior should be able to aspire to serve as judges, without regard to their fundraising abilities or political connections. This is what Merit Selection would achieve for the appellate courts.
Tags: Democratic City Committee, fundraising, judicial elections, Merit Selection, Philadelphia Inquirer
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[...] are under no legal obligation to disclose their deliberations to the public. As we pointed out in Tuesday’s post, to get the endorsement of the Philadelphia Democratic Committee requires a sizable political [...]