judgesonmerit.org

Philadelphia’s Traffic Court, already suffering from bad press due to allegations that Judge Willie Singletary displayed a picture of his genitals to a court employee, experienced a new setback this week. Newly-elected Judge Christine Solomon failed the required examination for Traffic Court and Magisterial District Court judges and was not able to take the oath of office along with other new judges.

Currently, Traffic Court judge elections are based on politics, not competence. To qualify, candidates must be 21 years old and a Philadelphia resident for at least one year. They need no formal legal training but non-attorney judges must complete a one-month preparatory course covering traffic laws and court procedure and pass a two-hour essay and multiple choice test before taking the bench (Judicial Code (42 Pa C.S.A. §3112)). Solomon, a ward leader, benefited from winning the first ballot position and strong support from the party leadership during the primary. In Philadelphia, that was all she needed to win a six-year tenure as a Traffic Court judge along with its $89,000 salary. A retest will be offered on January 31st.

This incident demonstrates that judicial elections are not designed to put the most qualified judges on the bench. There must be a better way.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS