Udicial Merit Selection

Policies and Procedures

Judicial Merit Selection

The judicial selection debate continues. Merit selection is used by a majority of states but remains the least well understood method for choosing judges. Proponents claim that it emphasizes qualifications and diversity over politics, but there is little empirical evidence regarding its performance. In Judicial Merit Selection, Greg Goelzhauser amasses a wealth of data to examine merit selection’s institutional performance from an internal perspective. While his previous book, Choosing State Supreme Court Justices, compares outcomes across selection mechanisms, here he delves into what makes merit selection unique—its use of nominating commissions to winnow applicants prior to gubernatorial appointment. Goelzhauser’s analyses include a rich case study from inside a nominating commission’s proceedings as it works to choose nominees; the use of public records to examine which applicants commissions choose and which nominees governors choose; evaluation of which attorneys apply for consideration and which judges apply for promotion; and examination of whether design differences across systems impact performance in the seating of qualified and diverse judges. The results have critical public policy implications.

In pursuit of the best practices in judicial merit selection

The goal of a judicial selection system is, and should be, not to simply fill vacancies, but to select the best candidates for judicial positions. This should be so, since the judiciary serves an important function in any society, that is, of preserving the rule of law and administering justice. A mechanism which ensures that only the most qualified candidates are selected, results in increased confidence in the judiciary, and in the system of administration of justice. Legal systems diverge in ways of selecting and appointing judges, with the same objective of balancing judicial independence with accountability. This study is a comparative analysis of the different judicial selection mechanisms, focusing on one of the pillars of the judicial appointive process, the judicial nominating commission or judicial councils. Utilizing comparative, descriptive-analytical, and historical approaches, this study reviews the methods of judicial selection and appointment in general, as a way to contrast and to better understand the selection process in the Philippines, and determine whether the same may be improved by adopting the best practices as employed in the different countries reviewed.