Mar 18 2008
Merit Selection Goes To Harrisburg
Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts and PMCAction took our campaign for Merit Selection of appellate judges to the State Capitol in Harrisburg today. We held a press conference in the Capitol Rotunda, featuring Senator Jane Earll and Representatives David Steil and Josh Shapiro, all of whom will be sponsoring Merit Selection bills in the state legislature. Senator Anthony Williams, another lead sponsor, wasn’t able to attend the event. The event was moderated by Lynn A. Marks, Executive Director of PMC and PMCAction.
Standing with us to demonstrate support for changing the way we select appellate judges were representatives of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, Common Cause Pennsylvania, Justice at Stake, ACLU of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Commonwealth Foundation. These organizations are part of a steadily growing coalition in support of judicial selection reform.
We felt great excitement and energy today, and we’re really pleased with the response from the media and the public. If you’d like to see more about the presentation we made, and the benefits of a Merit Selection plan, take a look at the press kit materials.
The Associated Press’ coverage appearing in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader noted “advocates for replacing Pennsylvania’s system of electing appellate judges with an appointive system launched a new effort Tuesday to convince the Legislature that change is needed.” Also reporting on the press conference were Philadelphia’s The Bulletin and The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, which noted that “State Sen. John Pippy thinks the state needs a better way to select judges for its appellate courts.”
Tags: media, Merit Selection, News, Pennsylvania, press conference
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The American Judicature Society (AJS) has supported commission-based appointment systems for selecting judges for more than 80 years, and AJS applauds the proposed legislation that would create a commission to screen judicial candidates and recommend potential nominees to the governor.
The nominating process is “the key to judicial merit selection,” and the nominating process described in this proposal possesses the key characteristics identified in AJS’ model judicial selection plan:
• The commission is composed of both lawyers and non-lawyers.
• Commission members are selected by multiple actors or entities.
• There is partisan balance among commission members.
• Commission members serve set terms of at least four years.
• The commission is encouraged to nominate individuals who reflect the racial, ethnic, and geographic diversity of Pennsylvania.
• The governor is required to nominate an individual from the commission’s list.
• Appointees are subject to periodic retention elections.