judgesonmerit.org

The Washington Post reports today that United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg believes states should be prohibited from electing their state judges. Ginsburg expressed particular concern over the fundraising and specific campaign promises inherent in judicial elections. During a question-and-answer session at the National Association Meeting for Women Judges held in Washington D.C. on Thursday night Ginsburg said,

If there’s a reform I would make, it would be that.

For those states that continue to elect their judges, Ginsburg favors limits on the kind of political speech that judicial candidates can engage in during their campaigns.

Ginsburg noted that she was a dissenter when the court ruled in 2002 that states could not limit the kinds of issues that judicial candidates discussed. She called the majority’s ruling — that limits on political speech violate the Constitution — the “Gertrude Stein” decision: “An election is an election is an election.”

Justice Ginsburg is not the first U.S. Supreme Court justice to condemn judicial elections. Her former colleague, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has been a vocal opponent of the process for many years and has made the issue a priority since her retirement in 2006.

Pennsylvanians should heed the advice of Justices Ginsburg and O’Connor and make the move  from judicial elections to a merit selection system of choosing appellate court judges. To do so, the state will be required to amend the Pennsylvania constitution. Legislation will need to pass twice consecutively in both the House and Senate before the question would be put to the public via a referendum vote. Legislation is currently pending that would begin this process.

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