Idaho Examiner: Idaho: Voters Instead Of Lawyers Get To Pick Supreme Court Justices "My Idaho...My Planet Rocks!"

A disturbing pattern has developed in recent years in the Idaho judiciary, in which state Supreme Court justices retire early so that their replacements can be chosen by the Idaho Judicial Council rather than voters, skirting the spirit if not the letter of the state constitution in the process.

But because the constitution cannot be completely ignored, appointed justices must still stand for re-election, even though they have the overwhelming advantage of running as incumbents, which virtually assures them of electoral victory.

About half the states use what is called the Missouri Plan, which cuts voters entirely out of the process and leaves it largely in the hands of lawyers. Understandably, Idaho’s clubby legal establishment prefers the Missouri Plan, and by tacitly encouraging the current end run around the state constitution have come as close as they can to implementing it in Idaho.

Even Missouri voters are now unhappy with their own plan, since lawyers have successfully packed the bench with a succession of liberal judges. It will be six years before it will even be possible to have a conservative jurist appointed to the state’s high court.

The conflict of interest here – where attorneys pick the judges before whom they will ultimately appear – turns attorneys into just another special-interest group.

Fortunately, Idahoans will have the chance to choose between two candidates for a seat on Idaho’s Supreme Court on May 27. Since so much unwarranted power has been transferred to the judiciary in recent years, it’s important that Idaho voters choose wisely.

To see the profiles of the two candidates for this seat on the bench, visit the Gem State Voter Guide at the link below, and encourage every voter you know to do the same.