Litigation

O?Connor Defends IA Merit Selection

By Peter Hardin

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor today commended Iowa’s merit-based selection method for selecting judges as “an excellent system” that ensures fair and impartial courts.

?Don?t throw out the system just because it?s under stress,? Justice O?Connor told a forum sponsored by the Iowa State Bar Association, according to a Des Moines Register article. ?I know you won?t do it. The bottom line is, Iowa has an excellent system in place for selecting judges.?

Iowa has grabbed national attention as some conservatives mount a campaign to oust three state Supreme Court justices in retention elections this fall. The conservative activists are unhappy with the court’s ruling to permit same-sex marriages in Iowa.

Justice O’Connor also said Iowa’s system could become more transparent. She alluded to the way Arizona, her home state, works to get information out to voters in advance of their going to the polls.

The reports she mentioned in Arizona ?demonstrate whether the judge has kept the calendar up to date, postponed cases too long, their rate of reversal, and what the criticisms are of the judge. . . . These things are helpful to voters.?

Under Iowa’s system, a nominating commission screens candidates and provides a list of finalists to the governor, who makes an appointment.

To learn more about merit selection of judges, check out Justice at Stake’s issues page on the topic. To learn more about the current controversy in Iowa, visit the JAS page for Iowa news.

Full post as published by The Gavel on September 08, 2010 (boomark / email).