judgesonmerit.org

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the longest serving judge in Shawnee County, KS is a fan of Merit Selection, despite the fact that he was elected to the bench. In fact, at the time of his retirement last week, Judge Matthew Dowd was one of only 2 judges in the County who had been elected before the County implemented a Merit Selection system. Dowd explained that despite his own success in the electoral process:

‘[M]y judgment is the merit selection retention system is the best way. With today’s high-dollar campaigns and TV and media pressure, there is more likelihood of getting a ringer, who is articulate and has a lot of funds but is not really the type of person who should be a judge.’

Judge Dowd also reflected on a major problem inherent in electing judges — it requires them to be in the fundraising business:

Most campaigns for judges are funded by lawyers, making it suspect because a lawyer either has or hasn’t donated to the campaign, giving the appearance of impairing the judge’s independence. . .

Thanks, Judge Dowd, for letting us know what a judge thinks about how we should be selecting judges.