judgesonmerit.org

We’ve been following the efforts of Johnson County, KS to maintain its local Merit Selection system in the face of an upcoming referendum to replace the system with partisan elections.  The Shawnee Dispatch offers an analysis of the views of those supporting and opposing the ballot measure.

Tim Kolba of Kansas Judicial Review, the group advocating for the elimination of the Merit Selection system claims that “left-leaning attorneys” dominate the current process.  Greg Musil, working with Johnson Countians for Justice — the group seeking to defeat the change and preserve Merit Selection — says Kolba and Kansas Judicial Review are motivated by a desire to get more conservative judges on the bench.

Gavel Grab is following the situation in Johnson County closely, and we will continue to do so as well.  For now, suffice it to say that we think that the key issues are how to get the most qualified, fair and impartial judges on the bench and how to keep judges out of the fundraising business.  The answer is Merit Selection.