THE MERIT SELECTION is designed to reduce the influence of partisan politics when it comes to selecting judges. But how can it reduce partisan politics when the local bar associations organize the election of lawyers to panels/commissions? Hello! These are plaintiffs' and defendants' lawyer groups at work here. They're not apolitical.

And another thing: how can merit selection shield the courts from partisan politics and interest group influence if the governors appoint the nonlawyers – business and professional people – to the panels? I mean, nonlawyer commissioners are obviously likely to be politically aligned with the governors and their party. Thus, the commissioners’ party loyalties mold their choices.

At the end of the day, the lists of names sent to the governors invariably include one or two persons the governors want to appoint.

An anonymous commenter over at Room Eight got it right yesterday when he wrote “Politics is politics whether appointed or elected.”

Cross-posted at Room Eight.