The Politics of “Non-Political” Judicial Selection
September 22, 2008
Proponents of abolishing democratic election of judges always claim that “merit” selection gets politics out of the process. But Minnesota judicial candidate Dan Griffith gives us a peek into the backroom dealing that goes on when judges are chosen in secret by “merit” panels controlled by lawyers.
There’s a strong correlation between those who actually end up on the appellate level courts and also on the district court level…that they first served on the selection committee, which means they were first politically appointed by the governor on this committee.From there, they get appointed to the appellate court or the Supreme Court. The majority of people on the appellate court first were on the selection committee. Basically, it means they’re selecting from themselves.
Democratic elections, of course, don’t remove politics from judicial selection any more than “merit” schemes. But at least the politics occurs out in the open for everyone to see, rather than being hidden behind closed doors. Most importantly, as Mr. Griffith reminds us:
In a democracy, what sets us apart is that we are able to choose our own leaders, not have them chosen for us. That is not what many other countries enjoy.
Posted by Dan Pero in the categories: Judicial Elections, Minnesota, State Battlegrounds
One Response to “The Politics of “Non-Political” Judicial Selection”
[...] system reducing “the influence of politics” in judicial selection, take a look at my post yesterday where a Minnesota judge details the insider games that take place behind closed doors with judicial [...]