Reformers try to take politics out of judicial appointments

Apr 2, 2011
Written by
JESSICA ALAIMO

While Ohioans elect judges, half of the jurists in Ottawa and Sandusky counties were initially given their robes by a governor.
 

Statewide, about one-third of those on the bench today got their start through a gubernatorial appointment, according to Ohio's Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor.
 

For this reason and others, O'Connor has proposed several reforms to keep politics off the bench. Her proposals include:

• Requiring a bipartisan judicial appointment recommendation panel to approve all mid-term gubernatorial appointees.
• Requiring state Senate confirmation of Supreme Court appointees.
• Eliminating party labels from the primary ballot.
 

If a judge retires or dies mid-term, the governor picks a replacement, using recommendations by the county political party.
 

"I'm a little uncomfortable with one branch naming the members of the judicial branch," O'Connor said. "It's a check and balance in the selection process."
 

Former Gov. Ted Strickland had a panel, though O'Connor said hers would be structured differently. Gov. John Kasich abolished the panel, and reverted to the method of asking county political parties for recommendations.
 

Rob Nichols, a spokesman for the governor, said Kasich asks for three names and encourages the county party to vet them with the local bar association. Then the governor's office does additional vetting.
 

"We are satisfied with this process, believing that it provides two layers of vetting and screening to yield highly qualified candidates," Nichols said in an email. "Having said that, we're open to any suggestions and are always looking for ways to improve the process."
 

O'Connor's proposal is still in its infancy. She said she is still talking to legislators and stakeholders.
 

O'Connor is the second chief justice to call for reforms. Thomas Moyer, who died last year, was an advocate for an appointment retention election system, where judges are initially appointed but face the voters to stay in office. The League of Women Voters, an influential election-reform group, backed his proposal.
 

JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS

Of 10 judges in Ottawa and Sandusky counties, five were appointed to their first seat.
 

An appointment gives judges the incumbent advantage. "Being able to campaign as 'Justice So-and-so' is probably helpful," said Adam Skaggs, an attorney with the Brennan Center for Justice.
 

But it's no guarantee. When Chief Justice Moyer died in 2010, Strickland replaced him with Democrat Eric Brown, whom O'Connor defeated in the general election.
 

State Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chesterland and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice, said he supports having a bipartisan screening committee. But a bill he introduced proposing just that in a previous session went nowhere.
 

O'Connor's proposal to require Senate confirmation of Supreme Court appointees falls on more skeptical ears.
 

Skaggs said requiring Senate confirmation of Supreme Court appointees wouldn't necessarily eliminate politics, pointing to recent nominations on the national level.
 

While he likes the idea of a screening committee, State Rep. Dennis Murray, D-Sandusky, said he does not support Senate confirmation for Supreme Court candidates.

A DIVERSE PANEL

Nancy Brown, who specializes in judicial issues for the League of Women Voters in Ohio, said the league supports codifying a panel as long as it is truly diverse and bipartisan.
 

O'Connor agrees that the makeup of the committee is crucial, and pointed to the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association's Judicial Qualifications Committee as an example the state should consider. Following recent political upheaval in Cuyahoga County, both political parties agreed not to recommend someone who hasn't been approved by the committee.
 

In the committee, talking politics is strictly prohibited, said Michael Ungar, president of the bar association.
 

The 66-member committee represents a diverse group of bar members, both in background and experience. "You have to be very careful and very strategic to be overly inclusive and not exclusive," Ungar said.
 

While Brown and other judicial watchdog groups are asking for transparency within a judicial selection committee, Ungar said it works better without the public knowing its inner workings. Those involved are free to ask prying questions and respond candidly without fear of how it will look in the newspapers the next day.
 

Open discussions, he said, "would have a chilling effect on the healthy and robust dialogue that goes on in that room," Ungar said.
 

NON-PARTISAN PRIMARY

The chairman of the likely state Senate committee of jurisdiction isn't too crazy about O'Connor's proposal for non-partisan primary elections, nor is the ranking minority member on the House committee.
 

Grendell said Ohio should keep the primary process. This will ensure that a party won't simply run two candidates in the primary, shutting the other party off the general election ballot.
 

Murray, the ranking minority member on the House Judiciary and Ethics Committee, said voters already don't know enough about the candidates -- at least the letter after their name gives them something.
 

Ohio has some of the most expensive judicial elections in the country, Skaggs said. O'Connor's proposals might not change that -- many states with non-partisan elections still have high spending on campaigns, and voters can still figure out the ideology of the candidate.
 

"I think any measure that's designed to reduce politics (in the courts) is welcome," Skaggs said. "I think it's a step in the right direction."
 

JUDICIAL REFORM

Different viewpoints converge on one concept: Too much money is being spent on judicial campaigns.
 

The campaign finance issue calls into question the integrity of Ohio's judicial system, Brown said.
 

Several states, including Wisconsin and North Carolina, have established a public financing model. However it isn't an option for Ohio in these tough budget times, O'Connor said.
 

This session Murray plans to introduce a bill for a system not funded by taxpayers. Supreme Court campaigns could be funded instead by an optional check-off on tax returns, and by a fee on the biennial lawyers' registration, he said. It would be opt-in for candidates, however he thinks most candidates and lawyers would support it.