judgesonmerit.org

In the wake of the judicial primary elections and on the same day the United States Supreme Court found that campaign contributions required a judge’s recusal, PMC and PMCAction are proud to announce that new legislation has been introduced into the Pennsylvania House and Senate to implement a Merit Selection system for the three statewide appellate courts.

We applaud  prime Senate sponsor Sen. Jane Earll, R-Erie, and cosponsor, Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Delaware and Montgomery, and House sponsors Reps. Matthew Smith, D- Allegheny, and Will Gabig, R- Cumberland, for their leadership in working to create a better system for selecting appellate judges.

As Senator Earll explained, “The public has been losing confidence in the fairness of our courts and judges, in large part because big campaign contributors often appear in court before the judges they support.  We need a system that encourages public trust and confidence in the courts. That system is merit selection.”  Representative Smith concurred, noting that “I am pleased to advocate for this key reform to our judicial selection process so that we can ensure the system is fair and reasonable.”

We are pleased that Pennsylvanians will have the opportunity to discuss how we should be selecting our appellate court judges.  This is a critical issue, and it has been a hot topic recently because of the recent elections, the nomination of Judge Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court and the anticipated decision in Caperton v. Massey. Pennsylvanians should continue to raise questions and debate the issue.  We sincerely hope that this process will result in the question being put to Pennsylvania voters in a referendum to change the constitution.

A brief summaryof the legislation can be found on our legislation page.  The text of the proposed amendment and accompanying enabling legislation are available: SENATE BILL No. 860 and HOUSE BILL No. 1621 (proposed amendment); SENATE BILL No. 861 and HOUSE BILL No. 1619 (proposed enabling legislation).

We hope to engage in a productive dialogue.

The Allentown Morning Call reports that in the midst of this year’s judicial elections, Merit Selection is on the legislative agenda.  State Senator Jane Earll (R, Erie) and State Representative Josh Shapiro (D, Montgomery), sponsors of last year’s Merit Selection legislation, confirmed that Merit Selection legislation will be introduced into the legislature this session.

The push for reform targets inherent problems in the judicial election process:

[R]eformers say that forcing judicial candidates to behave like politicians fosters the impression that campaign donors might get a fairer shake in the courtroom.

That’s because that clutch of potential donors that [candidates] touted to Democrats [at last week's endorsement meeting] are fellow attorneys and potential litigants who may one day have business before them.

PMC’s Shira Goodman explained why reform is needed:  “[The electoral] process does not do anything to raise the public’s trust [in the judicial system].”

Senate Judiciary Chair Stewart Greenleaf has scheduled a public hearing for September 16 to explore the Merit Selection legislation introduced early this year by Senators Jane Earll and Anthony Williams. The hearing will be Sept. 16th at 9:30 a.m. in Hearing Room #1 of the North Office Building in the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg. We will provide updates about who will be testifying and how interested parties can submit written testimony to the committee.

This is an important step in the public dialogue required to amend the constitution to change the way we select appellate judges. The hearing will provide an opportunity for the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, invited guests and the public to discuss the problems with the current system of electing appellate judges, the need for judicial selection reform and the specific proposal.

We appreciate Senator Greenleaf’s willingness to begin the dialogue and look forward to a productive hearing on September 16.