Open Society Institute Supports Preservation and Expansion of Merit Selection Project

The American Judicature Society’s Preservation and Expansion of Merit Selection project (Project) has received a $200,000 grant through the Open Society Institute’s (OSI)*  Constitutional Democracy Initiatives program. With this project AJS will promote the preservation and expansion of merit selection systems by providing nonpartisan public education and outreach, conducting applied research tailored to the needs of individual states, and offering expertise and assistance in support of the merit selection process.  

The Project will preserve and defend merit selection through three initiatives: defense of merit selection in Missouri and other states; formation and administration of a national association of nominating commissions; and research on judicial nomination, appointment, and confirmation processes. 

Despite, or perhaps because of, Missouri’s history of being the first state to adopt a merit selection plan, it has now become the biggest target for merit system attacks. Recently, a number of proposals have been made to alter the Missouri system of selecting judges. These attacks have been coupled with proposals to revoke the judiciary’s authority to rule on certain issues. To neutralize the attacks on merit selection in Missouri, AJS will continue to work with the bar, the judiciary, and its membership in Missouri to develop successful communications on the value of the Missouri Plan for selecting judges. 

The Project will also establish a national association of judicial nominating commissions to provide a resource network for commission members and their staff. In the thirty-three states that use nominating commissions to screen and recommend applicants for judgeships, there are 362 individual nominating commissions with nearly 3,000 commissioners, plus additional support staff. Each commission is engaged in similar tasks with similar objectives, and commissioners typically share concerns regarding their work. Except for periodic AJS training programs provided to judicial nominating commissions for many years, no institution or association exists to offer coordinated assistance to these commissions.  

Strengthening merit selection systems also includes efforts to expand understanding of how these systems operate in practice. Merit selection is a two, and sometimes three, stage process that includes nomination by a commission, gubernatorial appointment (with a few exceptions), and legislative confirmation where required. There is little comprehensive research on how particular aspects of the nominating process work in practice. Similarly, there is virtually no research on how governors and legislators approach their responsibilities.  

The Project’s exploratory research will entail surveys of and interviews with nominating commission members, gubernatorial staff members who work on judicial appointments, and legislative judiciary committee members in states where legislative confirmation of judges is required. The results of this research will inform the preparation of a “best practices” guide for the key actors in the merit selection process. 

Along with efforts to strengthen existing merit systems, the Project will target six states with favorable reform climates for expansion of merit selection: Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington. 

In response to recent threats to public confidence in the courts posed by judicial elections, calls for judicial selection reform have taken on an increased urgency nationwide. Political leaders, bar associations, and civic groups have proposed a variety of reforms to address these threats, such as public financing of judicial campaigns, improved voter education, and monitoring of campaign conduct. While these reforms are positive steps, they do not fully address the fundamental, systemic problems associated with contested judicial elections. 

Merit selection systems offer a clear alternative: identification and appointment of the best-qualified candidates, with an appropriate level of public accountability through performance evaluation programs and periodic retention elections or reappointment. In each of the targeted states, AJS will collaborate with national, regional, and local groups to offer citizens conferences on the benefits of judicial selection reform. During the 1960s and 1970s, AJS arranged nearly 200 citizens conferences throughout the country, which proved crucial to getting merit selection on the political agenda. AJS will adapt the citizens conference model to the 21st century. 

The Project will also involve research specific to the targeted states. As organizations and individuals work toward reform in their states, new research questions will arise regarding the need for selection reform and the potential impact of a move to merit selection. AJS will work with state- and locally-based advocates of selection reform to frame research agendas that are narrowly tailored to the concerns of voters, lawmakers, judges, and others in each state. 

Finally, AJS will develop a comprehensive resource model on merit selection that will be adaptable to the targeted states and the relevant constituencies. This resource will be published in brochure form and as an online product, and will be made available to national, state, and local organizations for dissemination. 

AJS is excited about the opportunity to strengthen and expand merit selection that the OSI grant presents and looks forward to working with its members to achieve the Project’s goals.