Minnesota Judge Joins Ohio Chief Justice in Calling for Selection Reform

Judge Kevin Burke, a Minnesota trial judge and member of the IAALS Board of Advisors, seconded Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor's call for selection reform in her state. As IAALS Online covered last month, O'Connor identified eight potential areas in which judicial elections might be improved and set up a website for public discussion of her proposals. According to Judge Burke, selection reform in Ohio is needed for three reasons: judicial elections may negatively impact public perceptions of judges and courts, not enough voters participate in judicial elections, and more can be done to educate judicial voters. Judge Burke's own research shows that, over the last decade, one fourth of Ohioans who participated in statewide elections did not vote on judicial candidates.