The O'Connor Judicial Selection Plan

Citing concerns about the erosion of “citizens’ and businesses’ confidence in the integrity of their judges,” a new report from the Committee for Economic Development calls for states to replace judicial elections with elements of the O’Connor Judicial Selection Plan.

A recent article in the Denver Bar Association’s The Docket reviewed the dilemma that surrounds how states select and retain judges. In the article, Colorado's merit selection system is highlighted as a nationally recognized model for ensuring a judiciary that is free from politics, while also affording citizen input. Colorado's process for choosing judges mirrors the four-part O'Connor Plan, IAALS' collaboration with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Earlier this month, Law Week Colorado published an article highlighting IAALS' report Choosing Judges: Judicial Nominating Commissions and the Selection of Supreme Court Justices. An outgrowth of the O’Connor Judicial Selection Plan, the report examines why judicial nominating commissions are established in the first place, how their structure and operation differ across the nation, and what some of the best practices might be in building public trust in the process.

We are pleased to announce the release of a new report on the judicial nominating commissions used to select supreme court justices in 30 states and Washington, D.C. With Choosing Judges, we examine why judicial nominating commissions are established in the first place, how their structure and operation differ across the nation, and what some of the best practices might be in building public trust in the process.