judgesonmerit.org

A recent Philadelphia Inquirer editorial urged the state legislature to stay on track and not get diverted from pursuing important reform legislation, such as legislative redistricting. We share the Inquirer’s concern that this legislative session is winding down with precious little action on some critical issues that affect the way we run our government.

Our primary concern is Merit Selection of appellate judges. Bills to amend the constitution have been referred to the Judiciary Committees in both houses. Passage of such bills is the first step toward letting Pennsylvanians vote in a referendum on how to choose appellate judges.

But first, we need a hearing. Please tell your legislators — particularly Judiciary Committee members and committee chairs Senator Greenleaf and Representative Caltagirone — that you want a chance to vote on changing how we choose appellate judges.

Calling all supporters of Merit Selection: We need your help!

As you know, changing the way Pennsylvania selects its appellate judges is a lengthy process. Right now, to keep moving forward, HB 2488 needs to be heard in the Judiciary Committee.

Please contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee. Ask them for a hearing on HB 2488, and ask them to support Merit Selection of appellate judges in Pennsylvania so that Pennsylvanians will have the opportunity to vote on this important subject in a constitutional referendum.

The members of the House Judiciary Committee are listed below. Click on the their names to obtain their contact information.

Majority:

• Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, D-Berks, Chairman
• Rep. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, Secretary
• Rep. Kathy Manderino, D-Montgomery, Subcommittee Chairman on Family Law
• Rep. John Pallone, D-Armstrong, Subcommittee Chairman on Crime and Corrections
• Rep. Don Walko, D-Allegheny, Subcommittee Chairman on Courts
• Rep. Lisa Bennington, D-Allegheny
• Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny
• Rep. Harold James, D-Philadelphia
• Rep. Deberah Kula, D-Fayette
• Rep. Bryan Lentz, D-Delaware
• Rep. Joseph Petrarca, D-Armstrong
• Rep. Sean Ramaley, D-Allegheny
• Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware
• Rep. Chelsa Wagner, D-Allegheny
• Rep. Jesse White, D-Allegheny
• Rep. Jewell Williams, D-Philadelphia

Minority

• Rep. Ron Marsico, R-Dauphin, Chairman
• Rep. Tom Creighton, R-Lancaster, Subcommittee Chariman on Courts
• Rep. Will Gabig, R-Cumberland, Subcommittee Chairman on Crime and Corrections
• Rep. Glenn Grell, R-Cumberland, Subcommittee Chairman on Family Law
• Rep. Craig Dally, R-Northampton
• Rep. John Evans, R-Crawford
• Rep. Kate Harper, R-Montgomery
• Rep. Beverly Mackereth, R-York
• Rep. Carl Mantz, R-Berks
• Rep. Bernie O’Neill, R-Buck
• Rep. Tina Pickett, R-Bradford
• Rep. Todd Rock, R-Franklin
• Rep. Katie True, R-Lancaster

This weekend, State Representative and Deputy Speaker Josh Shapiro (D -153) held a town meeting for his constituents. Shapiro identified Merit Selection of appellate judges as a critical reform for Pennsylvania. He explained why judges are different from other public officials and why it makes sense to use a different process to select them.

Representative Shapiro answered constituent questions about the pending Merit Selection proposal and invited PMC/PMCAction’s Shira Goodman to provide information about judicial selection in Pennsylvania and other states.

We thank Representative Shapiro for his strong support of Merit Selection and his co-sponsorship of House Bill 2488 & House Bill 2386. H.B. 2488 is the first step toward letting the people of Pennsylvania decide how we should choose appellate court judges.

To implement a Merit Selection system for the appellate courts requires a constitutional amendment. This requires passage of legislation in two consecutive legislative sessions, followed by a public referendum.

The first step is now underway. Bills containing the proposed text of the amendment, as well as the enabling legislation creating the nominating commission, are currently being considered by committees in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The text of the proposed amendment and accompanying enabling legislation are available: SENATE BILL No. 1324 and HOUSE BILL No. 2488 (proposed amendment); SENATE BILL No. 1325 and HOUSE BILL No. 2386 (proposed enabling legislation).

A summary of the legislation is available here.

On Tuesday, March 18, 2008, a new Merit Selection initiative for the Pennsylvania appellate courts will be announced by Senators Jane Earll and Anthony Williams and Representatives David Steil and Josh Shapiro , prime sponsors of the legislation. The Philadelphia Inquirer, in a front page article, describes this as a “major push” for Merit Selection.

PMC and PMCAction are very excited about this opportunity to change the way Pennsylvania chooses appellate court judges. Merit Selection will eliminate the influence of money in the selection of judges; give more people the chance to serve as judges, including those without great financial resources or political connections; and make sure that qualifications and experience determine who becomes a judge. This will increase public confidence that our courts are fair and impartial and serve all Pennsylvanians, regardless of financial standing or political affiliation.

In future posts, we will describe the Merit Selection proposal and how it will benefit all Pennsylvanians.