Litigation

Panel Approves Scrapping of AZ Merit Selection

By Peter Hardin

The merit selection system for choosing many judges in Arizona could be thrown out under a proposal that passed the state Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line, 5-4 vote.

The proposal would eliminate two nominating commissions, have the governor make judicial appointments and require Senate confirmation, followed by reconfirmation every four years (see Gavel Grab). If both the Senate and House approve the measure, it would be presented to state voters on the ballot in November.

Judges from both political parties and retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who lives in Arizona, have opposed the plan. It was supported by Republican legislators who backed state Sen. Jack Harper, the measure’s author; Harper criticized the current system as stacked to make it hard for conservatives to be picked for the bench, according to an article in the East Valley Tribune.

Among those voicing support for the current system was Arizona Supreme Court Justice John Pelander, a Republican. Arizona’s process has been “open and transparent and even-handed,” he said.

Currently  judges on the state Supreme Court, two appellate courts and trial courts in and around Phoenix and Tucson are named through merit selection. You can learn more about appointment and retention systems for choosing judges from Justice at Stake’s issues page.

Full post as published by The Gavel on February 16, 2010 (boomark / email).