PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE Editorial: Former governors of opposing parties don’t often agree, but a key convergence occurred last week when four of them called on Pennsylvania lawmakers to give voters a chance to replace the election of appellate judges with a system of merit appointment.
Democrats Ed Rendell and George Leader and Republicans Tom Ridge and Dick Thornburgh told the Legislature in a March 12 letter to let voters amend the state constitution to achieve reform. “Electing appellate court judges in divisive, expensive, partisan elections is not working for the people of Pennsylvania,” they wrote.
The latest poster child for change is suspended Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, who was convicted last month on six counts of public corruption. The charges stemmed from the justice’s use of state-paid staff to help run her political campaigns… (more)
I would like to see a system whereby judges are selected in a lottery like fashion from a large number of qualified candidates. The lottery winner must then be confirmed by the Senate.