judgesonmerit.org

In a recent Montgomery Advertiser editorial, Retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Vanzetta Penn McPherson advocates a transition from judicial elections to Merit Selection of judges. Her critique of judicial elections follows the resignation of Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb. McPherson seconds Cobb’s concern that partisan elections of judges “perpetuate the public perception that judges are selected more on campaign contributions than on ability.”

McPherson distinguishes the role of judges from governors and legislators. “The executive and legislative branches are deliberately partisan, and service in those branches is infused with political ideology.” In direct contrast, judges should rule objectively, without concern for party politics or personal ideologies, says McPherson. “It is beyond ironic that public servants summoned to administer justice blindly are expected to see clearly the differences between rich and poor, liberal and conservative, Christian and non-Christian, donkey and elephant.”

McPherson faults judicial elections beyond the involvement of money and politics. Rather, she identifies the crux of the problem to be the lack of emphasis on judicial qualifications. McPherson describes the intellectual challenges of serving on the bench and the need for judges with significant experience, strong academic achievement, effective management skills, and reasonable temperance. According to McPherson, Alabama’s codified qualifications fail to measure up. And before 2009, she says judicial campaigns were “more likely to highlight a candidate’s religious faith, church attendance and political ideology than the candidate’s abilities to fulfill the weighty tasks of analyzing legal issues and resolving disputes under the law.”

McPherson believes Merit Selection is “in the public’s best interest,” because it prioritizes a judge’s qualifications and temperament. We support her fight to change Alabama’s system of judicial selection and urge Pennsylvania to heed her call.

A recent editorial in Mobile’s Press-Register discusses judicial salaries, standards of quality and requirements for getting a seat on Alabama’s appellate bench. To ensure that the quality of the judges on the bench consistently matches their relatively high salaries, the paper suggests abandoning judicial elections and switching to Merit Selection.

[T}o improve the quality of the appellate courts... switch to a Missouri-style system of judicial appointment and voter retention. Choosing judges in nasty, lavishly financed partisan elections demeans the courts and discourages well-qualified people from pursuing a position on the appellate bench. If the state adopted the merit selection process included in the Missouri Plan, it's unlikely that judicial pay would outpace judicial quality.

Alabama is gearing up for an expensive state supreme court race this Fall, funded primarily by groups and individuals that spend a lot of time in court. We join with the Press-Register in the hope that the state will abandon big-money judicial elections, and make the switch to Merit Selection.