More Trouble With “Merit” Selection: Two Governors (And One AG) Blast Star Chamber Lists
December 5, 2008
Democratic Governor of New York David Paterson and Republican Governor of Florida Charlie Crist each blasted the slate of names handed to them by their respective judicial nominating commissions yesterday. New York and Florida utilize variations of the Star Chamber approach to choosing judges – where a small group led by lawyers determines who will sit on the bench.
Both Gov. Paterson and Gov. Crist attacked the lack of diversity among the list of hand-picked nominees.
“Florida’s diversity has been instrumental in the economic and cultural strength of our state, and that diversity should be reflected in every facet of our state’s government, including our judicial system.” — Governor Crist
“I’ve really got to wonder how this group would feel comfortable sending a list forward and not one of them represents half of the human race.” — Governor Paterson
I’m no fan of a quota system for picking judges, but both governors raise a profound point. Why should governors be restricted in their choice of judges by an unelected commission? There are literally hundreds of judges, lawyers, law professors and other legal experts in every state, reflecting a variety of backgrounds, races, genders, judicial philosophies, etc. Why shouldn’t governors be allowed to pick any qualified nominee, rather than have the candidate pool narrowed down to a handful by a tiny group that’s accountable to no one?
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo rightly concluded that the nominating committee’s action called into question the entire “merit” selection process:
“The governor should be able to consider men and qualified women. And to circumscribe and limit it to only men indicates something is wrong with either the process, the legislation or the way it was administered.”
Amen.
Posted by Dan Pero in the categories: Florida, Judicial Elections
One Response to “More Trouble With “Merit” Selection: Two Governors (And One AG) Blast Star Chamber Lists”
[...] state’s judicial nominating commission to fill a vacancy on New York’s highest court. As I wrote last week, Gov. Paterson and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo blasted the commission for sending a list of [...]