April 2010- Sent to the Editor of the Columbus Dispatch

 No matter what your reaction is to Governor Strickland’s appointment of Franklin County Probate Judge Eric Brown to Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, this is a time to begin consideration of a better way to select justices for our state’s highest court.

The nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund (LWV-Ohio EF) predicts the November general election for chief justice could be more partisan, more expensive and involve more special interests than we’ve seen in a decade. If we are right, this will further erode the public’s trust and confidence in the judiciary. But there is something we can do about this.

The LWV-Ohio EF believes there is a better way to select our supreme court justices—and has for almost 40 years, through both Republican and Democratic administrations. And for the past 18 months, we worked with the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, a champion of judicial reform, and with the Ohio State Bar Association to educate Ohioans about moving to an appointment / retention-election system for the state’s top court.

Of course, those who like things just the way they are tend to mischaracterize an appointment / retention-election system in two fundamental ways. They argue it would be highly political—and they say it would take away Ohioans’ right to vote on supreme court justices.

Nothing could be further from the truth. An Ohio Plan as envisioned by LWV-Ohio EF would use an open, transparent, bipartisan judicial-recommendations process. A diverse commission would base its recommendations on the qualifications of an applicant—not their politics.

In addition, justices appointed under such an Ohio Plan would participate in a public review of their judicial performance prior to their retention election. This information would help the electorate—finally—cast their ballots with comprehensive information about a justice’s performance on the bench.

Yes, there is a better way to select our supreme court justices than is currently being used.

Meg Flack

President

League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund