Litigation

Appointive Plan ?Worth Another Look? in Ohio

By Peter Hardin

One of Ohio’s leading newspapers has long been openly skeptical about proposals to appoint judges to the bench. Yet an appointment/retention plan floated by Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer  is clearly “worth another look,” the Columbus Dispatch declares in an editorial bearing that headline.

Chief Justice Moyer, a Justice at Stake board member, has proposed that the governor appoint Supreme Court justices from a list of candidates forwarded by a nominating panel of lawyers and judges. After two years, an appointed judge would stand for a retention election, with no opponent.

The editorial takes due note that “the money now required to run a statewide judicial campaign is astounding,” and it cites data reported by Justice at Stake that for 2000-2008, “Ohio state Supreme Court races raised $21.2 million, the second-highest total in the country.”

“Money, in reality, might not be influencing decisions,” the editorial posits. Then it turns to a core argument advanced by supporters of appointive-election systems:

“But the perception of bought-and-paid-for justice is hard to shake. Confidence in a fair and rational legal system is imperative for a state’s economic well-being. A closer look at the system by the General Assembly wouldn’t hurt.”

For more reading about Chick Justice Moyer’s thinking and a conference he recently held on possible reform, click here for earlier Gavel Grab articles. To learn more about how  appointive-elective systems work, you can visit Justice at Stake’s resources page on the topic.

Full post as published by The Gavel on December 07, 2009 (boomark / email).