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The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Central Pennsylvania supports Merit Selection because it “would be more likely to elevate qualified minority candidates to the bench than the current partisan election system,” lawyer and Hispanic Chamber representative Edward Lanza told the Senate Judiciary Committee in his oral and written testimony at the recent hearings on Merit Selection legislation.

The Hispanic Chamber believes that it is very important for the integrity of the judicial system in Pennsylvania that the courts reflect the increasing diversity of the Commonwealth’s population.  A growing Hispanic population is more likely to trust a court system that includes judges from diverse backgrounds and is more representative of the Community as a whole. . . .

This is not to say that diversity should be the only criterion for selection.  Neither should diversity be the main consideration.  The Commission will select persons of demonstrated competence, judgment and integrity to submit to the Governor for consideration, first taking into account the applicants’ qualifications and then considering the goal that each appellate bench should include both men and women, and judges and justices from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds and who reflect the Commonwealth’s geographic diversity.

Designed to put the most qualified jurists on the bench, Merit Selection provides greater opportunities to candidates that represent Pennsylvania’s diversity.  We would like to thank Ed Lanza and The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for their support.

Read more about the Senate Judiciary hearing and see the testimony of various supporters here.

The Urban League of Philadelphia supports Merit Selection of Pennsylvania’s appellate court judges because the current system of partisan elections has failed to provide diversity on the bench.  The Urban League has submitted written testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee explaining their support for Merit Selection:

In our state’s history, only once in 158 years of judicial elections has an African American been elected to Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court. Equally disturbing is that currently only two out of 31 statewide appellate court judges are African American. Not a single minority sits on the state’s highest court and neither an Asian or Hispanic judge has ever been elected to any of the appellate courts.

I believe the system we use to elect appellate judges is to blame.

[…]

Research by the American Judicature Society shows that racial minorities have greater success reaching appellate benches through merit selection.  Nobody is excluded from the process due to a lack of resources or political connections.  Merit selection emphasizes qualifications and values racial and ethnic diversity – as well as gender, geographic and professional diversity.

Pennsylvania is enriched by its diversity, and deserves to have courts that reflect that diversity.  Merit Selection can help achieve this.  We appreciate and thank the Urban League of Philadelphia for its support.

Learn more about the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and read the testimony of Merit Selection supporters here.