Governor Rendell Voices Support for Legislation That Would Change Way State's Judges are Selected

Press Release

Governor Rendell Voices Support for Legislation That Would Change Way State's Judges are Selected

As the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony yesterday on measures that would change the way Pennsylvania's appellate judges are selected, Governor Edward G. Rendell issued the following statement:

"I want to express my strong support for S.B. 1324 and S.B. 1325, which would amend Pennsylvania's Constitution to establish a system of merit selection of our appellate judges.

"Our system of electing appellate judges makes no sense at all. It takes a tremendous amount of time and money to run a statewide campaign, yet our judicial candidates are forced to accept indirect contributions from lawyers and special interest groups that know they will, one day, have to argue a case before that judicial candidate. Our own state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Castille put it best when he said, ‘The feeling is out there, because of the money that goes around in an elective position like mine, that somebody is not going to get a fair shake. That's not the way it should be.'

"I am grateful to Sen. Earll for sponsoring this legislation and to Chairman Greenleaf for holding this important hearing. As I said in March 2006 when I unveiled a comprehensive government reform package that included merit selection of appellate judges, Pennsylvanians have made very clear they want to reduce the influence of money in politics. Establishing a merit selection system would squarely remove the real influence of money in our judicial elections."

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