judgesonmerit.org

After a year and a half of debate and revision, a bill to start the process of bringing Merit Selection to the appellate courts of Washington has stalled in a committee of the Washington House of Representatives. Seattle attorney and blogger Rand Koler, who writes extensively about the Washington judiciary, has been following with interest the progress of the Merit Selection proposal. He believes, as we do, that “our system of government depends on an independent judicial branch, free — to the extent possible — from the influence of lobbyists, special interests and generally the sway of money.”

HB 2150 has support and sponsors on both sides of the political aisle. As an amendment to the Washington constitution, it would have allowed the state’s voters to weigh in on their preferred method for selecting appellate judges. Unfortunately, it’s been sidelined by the House Rules Committee, and Committee Chair Frank Chopp has exercised his power to keep the bill from coming up for a vote.

It’s unfortunate that this reform effort has, at least for now, been tabled. We hope that someone can prevail upon Mr. Chopp to allow his colleagues in the legislature, and the people of Washington, the chance to vote on this Merit Selection proposal.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS