Litigation

NV Merit Selection Proposal Readied for Voters

By Peter Hardin

Nevada’s Legislative Commission has formally approved the wording of a proposal that voters will consider in November, to set up a judicial appointment and retention system.

If voters support amending Nevada’s constitution, the state would scrap elections of Supreme Court justices and District Court judges when a vacancy occurs, and replace elections with what is widely called the Missouri Plan, according to a Record-Courier article.

The Missouri Plan is a nationally recognized system for selecting judges based on merit. In Nevada, the proposal envisions a Commission on Judicial Selection making recommendations to the governor, who would in turn fill a vacancy based on candidate’s qualifications.

At the next general election, the judge would face voters in an up-or-down retention election, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

State Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, a Reno Republican, has championed the plan as ensuring that the best lawyers become judges. Foes contend selection of judges should not be taken away from voters.

You can learn more about merit selection from Gavel Grab and from Justice at Stake’s issues page about appointment and retention systems.

Full post as published by The Gavel on May 11, 2010 (boomark / email).