Litigation

Nevadans to Vote on Merit Selection Plan

By Peter Hardin

On two occasions, the Nevada legislature has advanced a plan to change the state’s system for choosing judges and high-court justices. In just a week, it will be time for Nevada voters to decide whether they want to switch from competitive elections to a system of judicial appointments and retention elections.

A Reno Gazette-Journal article lays out the way the new system would work if voters choose to change the state’s constitution, and explains how its proponents hope to remove money from the process of seating judges on the bench.

Under the merit-based system, judges would be evaluated and voters would be able to reach more informed decisions about keeping judges on the bench, said Greg Ferraro, on the steering committee of Nevadans for Qualified Judges, a group pushing the measure.

Separately, some voters were awoken at 1 a.m. by robo-calls supporting the ballot measure, with a recording of the voice of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The company was fired, according to a Las Vegas Sun article.

Full post as published by The Gavel on October 26, 2010 (boomark / email).