The Star Tribune called on legislators to support a plan to reform judicial elections this year. They said, “That idea balances Minnesota’s 150-year-old tradition of a citizen check on the judiciary with its similarly long-held insistence that judges be insulated from special interests. To secure citizens’ respect, the merit selection and performance panels would need to be beyond reproach.
The Quie proposal will face resistance not only from interest groups that seek greater control over the courts, but also from Minnesotans who are not persuaded that their state’s tradition of nonpartisan judicial elections is at risk. To them, Quie said at the Capitol yesterday, ‘There’s a tsunami coming.’
David Rottman of the Virginia-based National Center for State Courts told a state Senate panel Monday that it’s only a matter of time before Minnesota experiences what neighboring states are witnessing. Last year, candidates for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat spent $6 million; this year, candidates for chief justice of Michigan’s high court are expected to raise and spend $20 million.”
Read the full editorial – http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/15289391.html
