Ferate: Give People Power To Elect Appellate Judges
Give people power to elect appellate judges
By ANTHONY J. FERATE
The people of Oklahoma deserve the right, in light of the judicial activism running rampant in our system and endorsed by the Judicial Nominating Commission, to chart a path that allows them to select our judges and determine their merit for ourselves.
It is time to cast aside the cozy back-room system that gives lawyers more control than citizens. It’s time to move for direct elections on the ballot.
In 1937, the American Bar Association endorsed a proposal for states to take the power of judicial selection away from the people. Now, an unaccountable commission partly controlled by the state bar association decides who can become a judge.
While a state governor would make the appointment, the governor would be limited to only three candidates approved by the commission. Giving lawyers outsized control over the judiciary would be no different than giving utility companies the power to select Corporation Commissioners. Absurd, and undemocratic.