Best Method
by admin on 30/11/09 at 7:32 am
Retain elections for judicial posts
Parkersburg News & Sentinel
November 25, 2009
Members of a special commission set up to recommend changes in the state’s court system were right to surprise some observers by failing to make a suggestion that many expected.
Gov. Joe Manchin established the Independent Commission on Judicial Reform earlier this year. It was a blue-ribbon panel, the luster of which was enhanced by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s agreement to serve as honorary chairwoman.
Commission members were to explore several issues, but the key question before them was whether judges and appeals court justices should be picked through elections. Some critics of the current system have said that electing judges and justices leads to questions about the jurists’ objectivity. That is especially so because candidates rely on campaign contributions that often come from those who, as lawyers, plaintiffs or defendants, may appear in court.
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