Minnesota Lawyer Blog reports that new Minnesota Chief Justice Eric Magnuson will reveal his position on whether he supports ending democratic judicial elections for judges and going to a “merit” selection system. Former Governor Al Quie, with the support of the Minnesota State Bar Association and former Chief Justice Russell Anderson, has been pushing the plan.

However, several Minnesota district court judges have come out against “merit” selection:

“The proposed retention-election system puts both the selection and retention of sitting judges in the hands of a very small, elite group, appointed by only two people – the governor and the chief justice of our Supreme Court. Citizens should remain justly suspicious of power exercised by a few.”