“Merit” Selection 2009 Preview
December 19, 2008
Earlier this week, the Associated Press ran an overview on West Virginia and other states that are considering changing the way judges are selected. (Hat tip: Judgesonmerit.) In West Virginia, Gov. Joe Manchin recently suggested replacing partisan elections with non-partisan elections, while there have been calls in Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Washington to adopt “merit” selection systems – where a committee controlled by lawyers meets in secret to pick judges, rather than voters.
Opponents of democratic judicial elections – such as Malia Reddick, research and program director for the American Judicature Society – say that “for merit selection to remain a legitimate option, I think there needs to be more openness and public involvement.” If “openness” and “public involvement” are critical factors in a “legitimate” judicial selection process, then only one system fits the bill: Democratic elections.