News & Updates

The authors suggest that, though the Supreme Court of the United States has in recent years struck down campaign finance laws, it may be willing to tolerate limits on spending in judicial elections. Click here to read the article.

This article recognizes that there is no shortage of debate about the best way to seat judges. Some states, like Tennessee, are considering moving from a judicial appointment system to an election system, while others, like Pennsylvania, are attempting to move their system in the other direction.

Doug Buttrey, executive director of Tennesseans for Economic Growth, lauded Tennessee for enacting civil justice reform but cautioned that its plan to make Tennessee the number one state in job creation and retention can't stop there. He urged Tennessee, which uses commission-based gubernatorial appointment for its Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Court of Criminal Appeals, to keep its current system.

Missouri Bar President John S. Johnston countered a recent Wall Street Journal editorial attack on its merit-based judicial selection system: "Although I usually find your opinion pieces very good, I read with sadness your editorial 'Missouri Compromised.' Your editorial position on the issue of merit selection of judges, often called The Missouri Plan, is simply wrong."

In the wake of allegations that a Pennsylvania state senator improperly helped her sister get elected to the state's high court, the Inquirer calls for merit-based appointment of appellate judges.

IAALS board member Judge Kevin Burke of Hennepin County District Court is interviewed in this article about judicial election reform action in Minnesota.