Litigation

Editorial Urges Judicial Reform in Texas

By Lissette Villarruel

An El Paso Times editorial is calling for judicial selection reforms in Texas.

The huge donations that have been poured into judicial elections could create the perception of bias in certain cases, the editorial argues. This concern was epitomized by Caperton v. Massey, in which a West Virginia justice overturned a $50 million lawsuit against a company whose CEO spent $3 million to help elect him.

The editorial also highlights the irony of partisan elections for judges on an impartial court:

?Being a Democrat or Republican should have nothing to do with the fair and impartial dispensation of justice. Yet judges campaign under a certain party affiliation, and it can be safely assumed that many are voted for because of the affiliation and not their qualifications.?

While the solution remains unclear, the editorial concedes, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson has declared his support for a system in which judges are appointed and then retained by voters. State Senator Robert Duncan has also introduced legislation to implement that appointment system.

To learn more about Texas and its judicial elections, you can visit other Gavel Grab postings.

Full post as published by The Gavel on March 13, 2009 (boomark / email).