Diamond Plan Would Preserve Citizens’ Right to Elect Judges
HARRISBURG – Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) today introduced a plan to make the Pennsylvania judiciary more diverse and accountable to citizens while preserving the right of voters to elect appellate court judges.
House Bill 2210 proposes a constitutional amendment that, if passed by two sessions of the General Assembly and ratified by voters, would establish regional districts for the state Commonwealth, Superior and Supreme courts. Presently judges and justices on these panels are elected in statewide races, leading some to claim that voters are not able to adequately vet court candidates to make informed decisions.
Specifically, the Diamond proposal counters the efforts of those who seek to take away citizens’ right to elect judges and justices and instead appointing appellate court judges through a merit selection system.
“In 1874, the people of Pennsylvania expressed their desire to use judicial elections as a reform to counteract the cronyism and corruption that existed under the appointive system that existed at the time,” said Diamond. “Returning to an appointive system now would be a step backward.”
Diamond’s bill would answer criticisms that judicial candidates are unable to thoroughly canvass the state. Appellate judges and justices would be elected from smaller districts, giving voters greater access. Most importantly, the plan would preserve the constitutional rights of Pennsylvanians to select their own interpreters of the law instead of assigning that responsibility to an unelected panel subject to bias and influence from special interests.
Diamond also noted that under the current merit section proposal, a panel dominated by politically appointed attorneys would create an inherit conflict of interest, with their ability to continuing practicing law resting in the hands of the individuals they select as candidates for the state’s Supreme Court.
The Diamond plan would create nine Commonwealth Court districts, 15 Superior Court districts, and seven Supreme Court districts, all containing similar populations and following compact and contiguous boundaries.
“The law belongs to the people, not just politicians and those who practice law,” said Diamond. “My legislation would preserve the right of the people to select their judges and justices; it would maintain public scrutiny by keeping judicial candidates within Pennsylvania’s campaign finance reporting system; and it would guarantee that the diversity of the Commonwealth and its various regions would be more accurately reflected in the appellate court composition and verdicts.”
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Representative Russ Diamond
102nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Ryan Travis, 717.260.6335
rtravis@pahousegop.com
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