judgesonmerit.org

A reader’s letter to the Clarion-Ledger decries the state of judicial elections in Mississippi and argues that it’s time for a change.  The reader notes that the elections have become more partisan, more expensive and have attracted more special interest participation in recent years:

Why are political parties, vested interest groups, and lobbyists interested in our state judgeships. Is our justice system now for sale to the highest bidder?

This is a question that many people are asking in states that elect judges.  And polls demonstrate a widely-shared concern that campaign contributions affect judicial decision-making.

The letter closes with a challenge that voters in all judicial election states should consider:

If you or I should ever have a case before our Supreme Court, I would pray that the judges’ decisions would be based in law and not partisan politics.

It is time to appoint judges!

We’re hearing calls for Merit Selection down in Mississippi. An editorial in the Clarion Ledger cites recent scandals and increasing campaign costs as reasons to consider moving away from electing judges. Lawyers in the state bar association and the Federalist Society are calling for reform, but there will need to be a big public education effort to convince the public: “the biggest hurdle is general Mississippi tradition of wanting to vote on everything and everybody.”

To combat this common argument against Merit Selection, the author argues:

The reality is voters don’t know very much about judicial candidates, or enough. We have a system that allows inordinate influence by special-interest money. Believe me, dear voters, you aren’t really picking judges. The major races are carefully choreographed: who runs, who gets financed. You just pull the levers.

We understand that it’s very difficult to change from an elective system, but this author points out in stark terms why voting for judges doesn’t really make sense.