judgesonmerit.org

When there’s an interim or midterm vacancy on any court in Pennsylvania, it is filled by the Governor making a nomination that is subject to Senate confirmation. Usually for appellate seats, the nominee agrees not to run in the next judicial election for a full term on the court and, therefore, sits on the bench for a short period of time.

This is because the interim appointment process is actually part of the electoral system and is designed to keep either political party from gaining too great an advantage in the next election. Thus, good candidates must promise not to run in the future, lest they get an unfair advantage of running while already a member of an appellate court.

There currently are four vacancies on the appellate courts — 2 on the Supreme Court and one each on the Superior and Commonwealth Courts. This week, the Governor’s nominees for those vacancies were all rejected by the Senate.

According to news reports, the Governor and Senate leaders met to discuss possible candidates for the vacancies, but the ultimate slate of nominees did not include individuals favored by the Senate leadership. As a result, after several months, the Senate voted all four nominees down, without even holding hearings.

So, we’re still left with four vacancies on the appellate courts, and the vacancy on the Supreme Court has the added problem of leaving a six member court that could result in 3-3 decisions. By the time the politicians meet again, new nominations are made, hearings are held and votes are taken, the new judges might have less than a year to serve.

If we had a Merit Selection system in place, these vacancies would be filled through the process involving screening by an independent citizens nominating commission, nomination by the Governor, and confirmation by the Senate. After four years on the bench, the judges would stand before the public in a retention election. Good judges would have the opportunity to stay on the bench for a full ten-year term. Judges the public is dissatisfied with would be removed, and the process would begin again to fill the vacancies.

Merit Selection is designed to get the most qualified judges on the bench in an expedient manner. It’s not designed to position political parties for upcoming elections. That’s why Merit Selection works.

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