Justice Ginsburg Would Do Away With Election of State Judges

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Thursday that judges at the state level should not be elected, but she did not explain what system she would recommend as an alternative.

"If there's a reform I would make, it would be that," Ginsburg said in a panel discussion held by the National Association of Women Judges, according to the Washington Post.

State judicial elections often produce lackluster campaigns and low vote totals on Election Day, as many voters know little about the candidates. But that's how most states pick their judges, from the lowest level to the state supreme court. Federal judges are appointed by the president, who relies in part on recommendations from senior members of Congress.

Ginsburg did not elaborate or say what system she would prefer to replace judicial elections. But she said she had concerns about judicial candidates needing to raise money and make campaign promises. Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who also wants to end the election of state judges, favors merit selection or an appointment system.

In 2002, Ginsburg dissented in a Supreme Court decision that said states could not limit the issues state judicial candidates raise and debate in their campaigns. The First Amendment "put sensible limits" on what a judicial candidate may say in a campaign, she argued.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor appeared on the same panel in Washington with Ginsburg. Sotomayor said she was heartened by the "level of affection and respect" she had seen on the high court during her first seven months on the bench.