Aug 24 2010

Pennsylvanians Shouldn't Have to Wait Anymore

Published by under Judges,Merit Selection,Opinion

An editorial in the Reading Eagle urges that it’s time to give Pennsylvanians the opportunity to vote on Merit Selection.   In a review of the report The New Politics of Judicial Selection, the editorial opens with these key points:

The Issue: A study reveals what we already knew: Judicial elections are becoming more expensive.

Our Opinion: It is time to switch to merit selection of Pennsylvania’s appellate court judges.

The editorial cites the rising costs of judicial elections and the increasing participation of special interests in those campaigns.  It agrees with the Professor James Sample (lead author of the New Politics report) that “‘We’re sort of playing with fire when you’re putting this much money into our courts.”

The editorial then reviews the pending Merit Selection legislation and notes that Governor Rendell and former

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Governors Ridge, Thornburgh and Schweiker recently joined together to support implementing Merit Selection for Pennsylvania’s appellate court judges.  The closing paragraphs are worth quoting in full:

According to a survey conducted by Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, 63 percent of the people in the commonwealth supported replacing the current system of electing judges, and 93 percent favored putting the issue to a statewide vote.

Nevertheless, the Legislature has been reluctant to even consider a change, which would take at least two years to implement because it would require a change in the state Constitution.

Why are the 253 members of the Legislature blocking the will of the people?

Despite growing support in the legislature and the dedication of our legislative sponsors, the Merit Selection legislation has not yet reached the floor of either House. We agree with the Reading Eagle that Pennsylvanians shouldn’t have to wait any more.

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Nov 09 2009

“There Must be a Better Way to Choose Appellate Judges”

Published by under Judges,Merit Selection,Opinion

The editorial board of the Reading Eagle makes a strong case to move to Merit Selection of judges in an editorial published today. The paper cites the record amount raised to date by Judge Jack Panella ($2.35 million), and that the total raised by both campaigns is expected to total over $4 million by the time final reports are due on February 1, 2010.

In fact, the numbers do not reflect the true amounts raised by the candidates. As we’ve reported on previously (here, here, and here, for example), the widely reported amounts raised in elections typically represent only money contributed directly to the campaigns of the candidates, and not third party and political party money spent directly on the election. Election observers will note that all of Judge Orie Melvin’s television commercials were paid for by the Republican Party, and thus represent a huge sum of money not reflected in her campaign’s reported contributions and expenditures (Panella’s ads were paid for directly by his campaign).

PMC’s Lynn Marks was quoted as saying why all of this is so troubling:

[T]he money comes from lawyers, law firms, unions and businesses who frequently litigate in the state courts. . . . These are not the types of records Pennsylvania should be proud of. But when you elect judges in partisan contests, the elections become more expensive, not less so.’”

The clincher:

Marks said nine of 10 Pennsylvanians polled by a state Supreme Court commission believe that judges are at least sometimes influenced by campaign contributions.

That’s no way to run an election for the state’s appellate court system. There has to be a better way, and there is. And it is nothing new. In fact former Gov. Tom Ridge, before he left office to join President George W. Bush’s Cabinet, urged the Pennsylvania Legislature to begin the move toward merit selection of statewide judges.”

There are currently bills before the state house and senate proposing a detailed plan for the selection of appellate judges based on merit. It’s time for the state to decisively take money out of the equation.

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