judgesonmerit.org

The Times Leader, serving Northeastern Pennsylvania, published a commentary piece by Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts this weekend addressing how to increase public confidence in our courts.  There has been a string of cases involving judges getting into criminal and/or ethical trouble, most recently a scandal involving two judges in Luzerne County.  PMC offered three suggestions for restoring public confidence:

First, our judicial discipline system must be strong, independent, willing and able to mete out strict discipline when necessary – even if it means stripping someone of the privilege of serving as a judge. . . .  Second, our bar leaders and court leadership should express outrage – on behalf of the people – at criminal and unethical conduct by judges. . . . Finally, Pennsylvanians should move forward with a constitutional amendment to change the way we select judges.

The third suggestion requires systemic reform, legislative action and broad public support.  We believe the outcome would be worth the effort:

We already know that many Pennsylvanians are concerned about the pernicious effect of money in judicial campaigns. We must get money out of the system of selecting judges and focus on qualifications, experience and the highest ethical standards. Elections, unfortunately, don’t emphasize these factors. We need a system that does.

An editorial introducing our piece called our suggestions “worth studying.”  We hope that Pennsylvanians will agree that it’s time to look for real solutions.