Gansler Proposes Postponing Judicial Elections

December 30, 2009 by Cato  
Filed under Courts, Maryland, Maryland Politics

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler wants to take away your right to elect judges.  At least that’s what the headline in today’s Annapolis Capital reads.  In reality, Gansler is proposing that judges have to be confirmed by voters within 10 years of their appointment rather than the current two years.

In theory, Gansler’s proposal has merit.  In theory …  In reality Gansler wants to make what is already political patronage even more deeply entrenched.

Judgeships are political appointments, nothing more.  That’s not to say the most judges aren’t well qualified; I’m sure they are.  However, forcing a judge to stand before the voters on occasion isn’t such a bad idea.  Although judges are rarely turned out of office, forcing them to stand before voters helps to keep judges grounded.  If you doubt this, you need only look at the federal judiciary.

Our founders designed the federal judiciary with lifetime appointment to prevent undue political influence on the judiciary.  Sadly, we have reached the point where political appointees to the federal bench and literally make law from the bench.  One need only look to the 9th US Circuit to see a living, breathing argument for a limited term of office for federal judges.

As I noted earlier, Gansler’s proposed has theoretical merit.  However, his left wing ideology shines through:

Gansler, however, argued that voters don’t have enough information after a year or two to make an educated decision. He also said voters regularly unseat minority judges, undoing the efforts of recent governors to diversify the bench.

"It becomes a contest run on popularity, often with racial undertones," Gansler said of the contested elections. "There is an obvious dearth of minorities on the bench."

In Gansler’s world, only the liberal elite posses the wisdom to appoint judges.  If a judge refuses to enforce the law or adequately sentence dangerous criminals, voters should have little to no recourse.

If anything, the current system doesn’t force judges to appear on a ballot often enough.  Rather than be elected to a 15 year term, perhaps judges should have to stand for re-election every 8 years.