Administrative Law

Update on Judicial Selection and Retention Hearing

By E.L. Lipman

The audio and video from a State Senate hearing on judicial selection and retention reform, held this past Monday, is now available on-line.

The testimony included remarks from a celebrity cast of witnesses ? including former Vice President Walter Mondale; former Minnesota Governors Al Quie and Arne Carlson; former Speaker of the Minnesota House Phil Carruthers; Chief Justice Russell Anderson; Associate Justice Alan Page; and President of the Minnesota State Bar Association, Brian Melendez.

Comparing the hearing on Monday with all of the legislative hearings he had witnessed as a member of the Legislature, Governor Carlson expressed the view that Monday's hearing was the best legislative hearing he had ever seen. A video clip of the testimony is accessible here.

I also had an opportunity to make a few remarks at the hearing on Monday, urging the Legislature to adopt a legislative confirmation model for selecting and retaining state court judges. My testimony appears at or around the 2 hour 52 minute point in the video clip ? or by way of a separate audio clip that is accessible here.

As always, reader feedback on any of the ideas that were presented during the hearing is warmly received.

Full post as published by Within the Scope on February 06, 2008 (boomark / email).