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Article
The Futile Quest for a System of Judicial “Merit” Selection
Albany Law Review
(2004)
Abstract
Others have discussed exhaustively the merits and demerits of merit selection, and I do not intend in this essay to debate the success or failure, per se, of merit selection since its introduction in Missouri in 1940. Instead, I wish to discuss the effect merit selection has on squelching public debate about the judiciary. Once that effect is demonstrated, I then wish to assess this antidemocratic tendency against the purported goal of merit selection: maintaining some measure of accountability in a selection system nonetheless designed to make judges confident enough in their independence to render decisions according to the law rather than the will of the public.
Keywords
- constitutional law,
- judges,
- judicial appointment
Disciplines
- Constitutional Law,
- Judges and
- Law
Publication Date
2004
Citation Information
Michael R Dimino. "The Futile Quest for a System of Judicial “Merit” Selection" Albany Law Review Vol. 67 (2004) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/michael_dimino/5/