Litigation

NV Judge Speaks Out for Merit Selection

By Peter Hardin

A family court judge in Nevada has an answer for activists who say a proposed appointment-and-retention system for selecting judges would take away citizens’ right to vote.

Washoe County Judge David Hardy said that under the merit-based selection proposal that will come before voters this fall, after a judge is appointed, he would be required to face the voters in the next election and get a minimum of 55 percent of the vote.

“It’s a myth that voters will lose their right to vote for judges,” Judge Hardy was quoted as saying in a Las Vegas Review-Journal column. The retention election requirement, he said, represents “real accountability.”

Judge Hardy favors merit selection, and in a state where it is not popular right now, he stuck out his neck to discuss his reasons.  Among them, Judge Hardy talked about the rising costs of judicial elections and the damage to the perception of impartial justice that may arise:

“The cost of judicial elections is spiraling out of control. The urban District Court races are expensive. A statewide race for the Supreme Court costs $1 million.

“Do we want judges raising that kind of money from court participants? The courtroom is a temple of justice. No person should enter a courtroom fearing that political and partisan influences predominate over the rule of law.”

In recent polling by the newspaper and by KLAS-TV, Channel 8, 27 percent of voters said they would vote for the merit selection proposal on the Nov. 2 ballot. Another 19 percent were undecided, and 54 percent said they opposed the resolution.

The columnist, Jane Ann Morrison, noted that Judge Hardy ran unopposed in June. Because of that, he could have won election with just one vote, even if it was his own, she wrote. She reported that many Nevada judges do not face a challenger in part because of the costs of challenging an incumbent, and a discomfort by lawyers about giving money to a candidate challenging a judge before whom they may appear.

A group called Nevadans for Qualified Judges hopes to raise as much as $700,000 to use in urging a public vote in favor of the resolution. You can learn more about the merit proposal from Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on July 22, 2010 (boomark / email).