judgesonmerit.org

In a recent interview, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Castille reiterated his support for Merit Selection of judges in order to reduce political influence on the judiciary.

The statement came as the Supreme Court is deciding several highly politically charged cases including

VoterID and redistricting.

Although he has not actively campaigned for judicial selection reform, Chief Justice Castille has been a longtime supporter of Merit Selection, going so far as to make it a plank in his platform during his 1993 campaign for the Supreme Court. “Even back then I was saying, ‘Wow, you know, this is an odd way to elect individuals who are going

to have significant control over situations in your lives or business disputes, government disputes,’” he said.

Merit Selection reduces the amount of political influence on the judiciary because judges do not need to campaign, thereby eliminating the need to fundraise or make promises to supporters.

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