Letters: Selecting judges

IT IS difficult to write a rational response to the irrational and wildly inaccurate op-ed piece written by Marina Angel in the March 24 edition of the

Daily News

.

The Philadelphia Bar Association has a sincere respect for Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts' long-standing efforts to enact significant change to the present method of electing appellate court judges. Ms. Angel's time and efforts perhaps would have been better spent had she avoided apocalyptic visions of a death to our democratic principles with a merit-based judicial election process passed by our legislature and approved by the electorate. Rather, with a new selection method in place, as 44 other states have shown, our judiciary might be populated not by the best fund-raisers, but truly the best and the brightest.

Kenneth Shear

Executive Director

Philadelphia Bar Association

Philadelphia

Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts (PMC) trusts Pennsylvania voters to decide the best way to choose statewide appellate judges. That is why we have long supported the constitutional amendment process to change the way we pick appellate judges.

PMC wants the people to make that choice. Unfortunately, reform has been opposed by those who fear giving the people this opportunity to vote. PMC trusts the voters who repeatedly demonstrate, by low turnout, responses to polls and frustration expressed to the media and court watchers, that electing judges doesn't make sense. Voters realize that they often don't have enough relevant information to make meaningful decisions.

And voters are smart enough to realize that elections help identify those with fund-raising prowess and campaigning skill - not necessarily those who will make good appellate judges.

Lynn A. Marks

Shira J. Goodman

Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts

Philadelphia