judgesonmerit.org

The perennial fight over selection of appellate judges in Tennessee is back on, according to an opinion piece published in The Tennessean on 1/30. In “Judge-selection system in state instills trust,” Dwight Lewis explains how the state’s Merit Selection system works, and notes support for the plan from former Tennessee Supreme Court justice, and newly inaugurated governor Bill Haslam. Haslam cites his own experiences on the campaign trail as a reason for supporting the current system, saying “[a]s somebody who has spent two years going across the state campaigning, I’m just not sure we want our Supreme Court judges to do that.”

A 1/27 piece by Nashville Scene’s Jeff Woods states the problems with judicial elections even more bluntly. “Conservatives want judges to sing for their supper and submit to contested elections — but will that pimp out the bench?” After a sharp critique of both sides of the argument, Woods concludes that the political reality doesn’t bode well for a change in Tennessee. At least not yet.

For this session anyway, the most likely outcome probably is none at all. The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce already is talking about the need to send the whole argument to a summer study committee — a favorite water-treading tactic. Lawmakers will have to make a decision by 2012, when the current law expires. Who knows — a few Christmases from now, you might be able to buy someone a judge.

Woods’ turn of phrase eloquently captures the issues facing elected appellate judges here in Pennsylvania. Our appellate judges and justices are, in essence, required to “sing for their supper” by campaigning for votes, wooing political parties and collecting campaign donations. Any time they rule on a case involving a political ally or campaign donor, they’re left open to accusations that they’ve decided to “pimp out the bench.”

That’s why we’re asking our state legislators, and the people of Pennsylvania, to support the switch to Merit Selection of appellate judges, and why we’re rooting for Tennessee to leave its Merit Selection plan intact. We’ll certainly be keeping an eye on this ongoing debate.

Sworn in this past Tuesday, Tennessee’s new – and first woman – chief justice, Janice M. Holder vocalized her support of the Merit Selection system known as the “Tennessee Plan.” In fact, the entire Supreme Court wants to keep Tennessee’s current system. As Holder explains:

This court is not in favor of partisan election in which judges are obligated to raise millions of dollars for campaigns. This court is in favor of the current principles that comprise the Tennessee Plan.

Tennessee’s Supreme Court judges know that Merit Selection works in their state and how vital it is to keep the current system. That system, as we’ve written, is scheduled to sunset next year — on July 1, 2009 — if it isn’t renewed or modified. We hope that Tennessee maintains its Merit Selection system, and believe that Merit Selection will provide the best way for Pennsylvania to select its appellate judges, too.

There is an insightful editorial in the Tennessean urging Tennessee to maintain its Merit Selection system. Buck Lewis, who’s seen the Tennessee Merit Selection system from the perspective of a nominating commission member and a disappointed judicial candidate, wants the people of Tennessee to know that the system works.

That’s right, Mr. Lewis first failed to be nominated by the commission. Then, a year later, when he was recommended to fill a vacancy, his panel was rejected by the Governor due to a lack of diversity. Yet he still is a champion of Merit Selection:

More than 30 years of experience with selecting and electing judges tells me that the Tennessee Plan is the best plan we have ever had to pick our judges.

Mr. Lewis counts among his reasons for supporting Merit Selection the nominating commission’s ability to screen out unqualified applicants; the commission’s thorough vetting of candidates in a way not possible in the electoral system; and the avoidance of expensive, contentious elections.

It’s hard to imagine turning back the clock to the days when political parties nominated slates of Supreme Court judges. Tennessee would be the only state ever to scrap merit selection and revert back to raw politics.

We hope Tennessee will heed his call, and that Pennsylvanians will also realize why Merit Selection is a better way to select appellate judges.

During a recent trip to Memphis, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen expressed his continued commitment to renewing the “Tennessee Plan” for Merit Selection of the state’s judges. Governor Bredesen acknowledged that the current plan isn’t perfect, but he believes in it, and he’s working to preserve it.

The preservation of the Tennessee Plan is the vastly more important thing to me than any messing around or fooling around with the mechanics of the selection. I’d like to see it opened up. I’d like to see something like some additional selections… but preservation of the Tennessee Plan is a must-do for the state.

The governor also noted that other state officials, including Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and Tennessee House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, support renewal of the Plan.

Memphis attorney Buck Lewis also expressed his opinion that the Tennessee Plan should be renewed. Lewis is the new president of the Tennessee Bar Association, and is a former judicial candidate that the governor had previously refused to nominate. But on the importance of the Tennessee plan, Lewis and Bredesen see eye to eye. “If you care about diversity and quality on our state’s appellate courts, you ought to care about us retaining the Tennessee Plan,” Lewis said.

It’s good to know that these officials are committed to preserving Merit Selection of judges in Tennessee. We wish them the best of luck.