Legal News

Williams Drops Support of Merit Selection

By Brian Harris

State Sen. Anthony Williams said he was no longer going to support selecting judges through an appointed process, also known as "merit selection."

Williams was speaking during a press conference convened today to criticize the lack of Philadelphia Inquirer endorsements for the black women running for judge locally.

Williams said he was no longer going to support selecting judges through "merit selection" because of the Inquirer's editorial stance on the Philadelphia Common Pleas and Municipal Court races and because most of the black women running for judge were rated "not recommended" by the Philadelphia Bar Association's Judicial Commission.

Williams said the bar and the editorial board had asked him to support "merit selection" in the past. And because of his growing distrust in bodies that Williams said don't believe in fairness, he couldn't support taking away voters' franchise in selecting judges.

Williams had introduced a "merit selection" bill proposing that Philadelphia judges be selected through an appointed process based on their qualifications. Williams said he still wants to improve the elective process for judges, but he will look to campaign fundraising limits, not "merit selection" legislation to reform the process.

Lynn Marks of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, a key proponent of merit selection, said she was disappointed by Williams' change of mind, and she hopes to dialogue with him about his stance.

Williams has spoken passionately about "the burdens on candidates in terms of raising money and the whole randomness of the elective process," Marks said.

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on May 18, 2009 (boomark / email).