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Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Ind. Courts - Get the politics out of county judiciary
"Get the politics out of county judiciary" is the title to an editorial today in the Indianapolis Star. Some quotes:
Our position is: Lawmakers should come up with a statewide, nonpartisan system for appointing county judges.Although a proposal to change the way Marion County judges are selected appears doomed during this legislative session, the subject deserves further scrutiny by a study committee. [The proposal was HB 1703 - see ILB entry here.]
Indiana's courts are in dire need of uniformity. Lawmakers ought to begin with how judges are selected -- not just in one county, but statewide. * * *
The governor should have a hand in naming state supreme and appellate court judges, but he has better things to do than concern himself with local courts. Those appointments ought to come from nonpartisan panels involving representatives of local bar associations, law enforcement officials and law school deans who know the candidates and the community.
Under such a system, judges should have to face periodic retention votes, giving the public the option of removing jurists who aren't up to the job.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 8, 2005 09:46 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts