Litigation

In Nevada, O?Connor Stumps for Merit Selection

By Peter Hardin

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor campaigned vigorously in Nevada for voters to support merit selection of judges. She spent part of her time declaring that appointed judges are good for business.

She was surprised to learn in a recent visit to Iowa that both the business sector and unions were “absolutely sold” on the value of merit selection, a Las Vegas Sun article quoted Justice O’Connor as saying. She explained some of her views this way:

?Businesses believe, as I do, that when you go to court to have an issue resolved, that it be resolved by the people who are qualified, fair and independent.?

?You don?t want them there because money that has been spent on them. You can understand why the business community would feel that way. You don?t want to run the risk of having somebody who is committed to some point of view by virtue of some campaign contribution.?

Justice O’Connor is one of the nation’s leading advocates for eliminating competitive judicial elections in the states, and she and her allies fear that fair and impartial courts are tainted when candidates and incumbents have to hit the campaign trail for cash, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

If citizens vote in November to amend Nevada?s constitution, the state would end elections of Supreme Court justices and District Court judges when a vacancy occurs, and replace elections with what is widely called the Missouri Plan.

The proposal envisions a Commission on Judicial Selection making recommendations to the governor, who would in turn fill a vacancy based on candidate?s qualifications. At the next general election, the judge would face voters in an up-or-down retention election (see Gavel Grab).

Justice O’Connor addressed newspaper editorial boards and Nevada State Bar members. In a Las Vegas Review-Journal column, John L. Smith said that after hearing her and leading Nevada advocates talk about “professional judicial selection conducted in public,” “I began to think it was a good idea.” He wondered aloud, however, if proponents were doing enough to press their cause.

Full post as published by The Gavel on September 22, 2010 (boomark / email).