Judicious | Phasionistas

One thing gubernatorial candidates Ed Rendell and Mike Fisher agree on is that they disagree on the way we elect judges in this state.

Rendell and Fisher, who are both lawyers, were scheduled to get together here in Philadelphia at the PBI-PBEC Education Center last Wednesday to talk about this issue, but Rendell had a scheduling conflict and gave his remarks by video.

Fisher attended the forum, hosted by the Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts (PMC), a nonprofit statewide organization that focuses on the quality of the judicial system, including the jury process and eliminating bias in the courts.

PMC favors merit selection of appellate court judges versus the partisan election process that is in place now.

PMC does not recommend that the governor appoint all his cronies to the bench; they support a diversified bipartisan nominating commission that would submit a list of qualified candidates to the governor. The governor would then nominate a candidate from that list.

Now that the state Supreme Court ruling has allowed judicial candidates to be able to speak freely while campaigning, that also opens up a whole new can of worms.

Currently, all judicial candidates, both in the appellate and lower courts, must campaign and raise money like any other candidate.

So who does? Lawyers. Lawyers attend judicial fundraisers, the same lawyers who may appear later before that candidate, once appointed.

The PMC forum, hosted by Chair Clifford Haines, and Executive Director Lynn Marks, was a venue for discussion on the issue and was attended primarily by lawyers but some judges as well.

"We are only one of six states that still elect all of our judges in partisan elections," said Marks.

Rendell, in his video appearance, said he has been pushing for merit selection since he was the district attorney in 1978.

"The way we elect judges makes no sense at all," said Rendell. "There is an incredible cost for what it takes to run a statewide campaign -- well over a million dollars. And that creates incredible pressure on the candidate, although a judicial candidate cannot raise money directly. The only contributors are lawyers or special interest groups, people who pretty much know they will be in front of a judge," said Rendell.

"Judges are supposed to be neutral, they are supposed to listen to the arguments and read the briefs," said Rendell, whose wife, Midge Rendell, is a federal judge.

Another reason Rendell said he was for merit selection was that usually only candidates from the southwestern part of the state, or Philadelphia, get elected. "If you were a brilliant trial lawyer from Northumberland County, you have no chance," he said.

He concluded by saying that merit selection is not taking away the people's right to choose because of the broad-based selection panel that would be in place for nominations.

"I have been working in the trenches to get merit selection done for the last 15 years," Fisher said in his opening remarks.

Fisher mentioned that he does not always fully agree with the way the Pennsylvania Bar Association has gone about selecting and rating candidates. "But the fact that they have a process is an improvement," he said.

Judicial candidates usually fear the bar associations in their respective counties because a non-recommended rating from an association is an embarrassment. However, in lower court elections in Philadelphia, most candidates are picked by their party, get party support and do not need a recommendation from the bar to get elected to the bench.

"The Republican party has shown that they support qualified candidates," said Fisher, referring to the last election when the GOP took the state in the appellate courts.

Fisher suggested that the nominating panel have legislation representation because, he explained, "if this panel sends a name just to the Senate, it will be doomed for failure."

Despite the fact that merit selection is focused on the appellate courts, Fisher wants it to reach the lower courts, particularly here in the city.

Last year Fisher, who is the state attorney general, led a grand jury investigation from the Bureau of Criminal Investigations in his office, centered around financial transactions during the 1997 and 1999 Municipal and Common Pleas Court elections. Four ward leaders were charged with misdemeanors for failing to file campaign expense reports and the illegal disbursement and receipt of election money.

"Everyone should be ashamed of the way we elect judges here in Philadelphia," said Fisher.

Phasionistas

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