judgesonmerit.org

An editorial in the South Bend Tribune decries the huge amounts of money being spent in neighboring Michigan for a single seat on the Supreme Court. It is anticipated that nearly twenty million dollars will be spent on this campaign, and at this point, the Democrats haven’t even named a candidate to challenge sitting Chief Justice Clifford Taylor. The editorial notes, “It’s lucky that justice is blind to this mess.”

Observing that the campaign is the focus of a battle over tort reform efforts, the South Bend Tribune boasts “Indiana, of course, sidesteps this particular problem by appointing its Supreme Court justices.” In fact, Indiana’s appellate courts are selected through a Merit Selection process, with a nominating commission, appointment by the governor and retention elections.

The editorial concludes by recognizing that Indiana’s system might not work for every state, but recommending that Michigan “take a look at revising the selection process for its high court so that the best candidate is determined by his or her qualifications and the input of citizens — not by special interests seeking an advocate.” This is good advice for Michigan, and for Pennsylvania, where we elect all our appellate judges in partisan elections.