Constitutional Law

Texas Chief Justice: Abolish Judicial Elections

The selection process for Texas judges desperately needs an overhaul, Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson declared Thursday. The Austin-American Statesman reports that Jefferson made “a passionate plea for reform, saying that “the corrosive influence of money” and politics on elected judges has eviscerated public confidence in the Texas judiciary.

In his biennial State of the Judiciary address, Jefferson claimed that polls show more than 80 percent of Texans believe that campaign contributions influence judicial decisions.

Texas judges have been elected since 1876. The state is one of only seven that currently holds partisan judicial elections, reported the Associated Press. Jefferson, who won reelection as a Republican in November, said, “I would like to claim that voters gave me the honor of continued service because of stellar credentials, but it may just as well have been tied to [Sen. John] McCain’s success in Texas.”

Jefferson’s suggested changes, which would require amending the Texas constitution, were almost immediately filed as a bill by Republican state Sen. Robert Duncan of Lubbock. Duncan’s proposal would grandfather all current appellate justices into the new system, permitting them to retain their seats through reelection upon the expiration of their terms.

Duncan has previously filed similar bills to no avail. Two former chief justices of the Texas Supreme Court also publicly advocated for such reforms without success.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on February 12, 2009 (boomark / email).