Statewide Coalition, Lawmakers Announce Effort to Reform Minnesota's Judicial
Selection System
Former Governor Al Quie Leading Campaign in Support of Proposed Constitutional
Amendment
ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Minnesotans for
Impartial Courts (MIC), an educational and advocacy organization chaired by
former Governor Al Quie, today launched a statewide education and lobbying
campaign urging the Minnesota Legislature to approve a constitutional
amendment enacting retention elections for judges. The campaign will inform
the public of emerging threats to the fairness and impartiality of Minnesota's
judicial system, and advocate for a ballot question for voter consideration in
the November 2008 election.
"Minnesotans are justifiably proud of the integrity of our judicial
system," said Governor Quie. "Unfortunately, very real and serious threats to
Minnesota's judiciary are emerging. Judicial campaigns around the country are
quickly transforming into high-stakes political campaigns, complete with
special interest group endorsements and negative advertising."
Senator Ann Rest and Representative Steve Simon are the chief authors of
legislation supporting the proposed constitutional amendment, which will be
introduced when the Legislature convenes on Feb. 12. The proposed reforms are
designed to ensure that judicial selection in Minnesota is based on merit,
quality performance and informed voter approval.
Key features of the proposed constitutional amendment include:
1. Merit Selection -- The amendment calls for Merit Selection Commissions
to nominate the most qualified judicial candidates to fill vacancies
at all levels of the state judiciary;
2. Gubernatorial Appointment -- The Governor will appoint judges to fill
vacancies from the list recommended by the Merit Selection Commission;
3. Performance Evaluation - A Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission
will evaluate judges' performance and release those evaluations to the
public; and
4. Retention Elections -- A yes or no Retention Election system will
replace the current system, continuing to ensure that voters have the
final say on retaining or removing all judges through a simple
up-or-down public vote. If a judge is removed from office, the
Governor will ask the Merit Selection Commission for recommendations
to fill the newly created vacancy.
"In other states, such as Wisconsin, fair and impartial justice has been
threatened by an influx of negative political influences," said Senator Ann
Rest, author of Senate legislation to support the constitutional amendment.
"Retention elections have protected fairness and impartiality in other states,
and we have a responsibility to support this constitutional amendment now in
order to protect the integrity of Minnesota's judicial system for generations
to come."
The efforts to reform Minnesota's judicial selection process are based on
recommendations from the Minnesota Citizens Commission for the Preservation of
an Impartial Judiciary, a bi-partisan, independent commission led by Governor
Quie. The Commission's task was to consider the scope of threats to an
impartial court system in the aftermath of the White decision, a recent U.S.
Supreme Court decision that allows Minnesota judicial candidates to seek
political party endorsements, announce their views on political issues and
directly accept campaign contributions from special interest groups.
A survey conducted by Decision Resources Ltd. of Minneapolis and released
this week by Justice-at-Stake, a nonpartisan national organization promoting
fair and impartial courts, found that 81 percent of Minnesotans support or
strongly support creating an evaluation of the performance of all judges by a
commission including lawyers and non-lawyers. The full results of this survey
can be found at http://www.justiceatstake.org.
"There is no question that citizens should continue to have the final
voice on the retention or removal of judges," explained Rep. Steve Simon,
chief author of the retention election bill in the Minnesota House of
Representatives. "But it is just a matter of time before Minnesota judicial
elections become dominated by special interests and questions of politics,
rather than character. Retention elections with a public performance
evaluation system are the best way to preserve a fair and impartial
judiciary."
Minnesotans interested in preserving a fair and impartial judiciary are
encouraged to visit http://www.ImpartialCourts.org for more information, to
get involved, or to read the full recommendations of the Commission.
Minnesotans for Impartial Courts is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation of
concerned citizens from all walks of life and political persuasion -- people
from the legal community, education, labor and business -- who want to keep
Minnesota's courts independent and accountable by keeping special interest,
partisan consideration, and campaign contributions from influencing the
selection and retention of Minnesota's judges.
SOURCE Minnesotans for Impartial Courts
Mary Heller, +1-612-889-5921, maryheller@comcast.net, or Jessie Ostlund,
+1-952-897-8211, jessicaostlund@himlehorner.com, both for Minnesotans for
Impartial Courts
