October 24 - 6 pm - DECC - Fair Courts Forum - Hear Eric J. Magnuson
Impartial Judiciary
Democracy Reform: Judicial Selection
Protecting Minnesota’s courts can’t wait, which is why we need you to sign on with LWV Minnesota as a supporter of the Coalition for Impartial Justice, a bipartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to empowering voters, restoring accountability, and limiting the influence of campaign money on judicial campaigns.
Sign the petition to protect MN courts.
LWV Minnesota supports a strong independent and impartial judiciary. Our 2007-08 study recommends a process of merit selection and retention elections. Educating Minnesotans about this reform is a key facet of ourState of Democracy program. Three of our local LWVs—Rochester, Duluth and St. Cloud—are partnering with the Coalition for Impartial Justice to hold town
hall forums this fall.
The Impartial Justice Act is extremely important to the future of Minnesota’s judicial system. Its three key reforms are:
Ask your friends to support the Impartial Justice Act and tell their
legislators that we can’t wait for big money court races to come to Minnesota. We need to act now to prevent out-of-state special interests from having the ability to buy a seat on the bench.
Thank you for your continued support. If you have questions, please contact LWV Minnesota’s Policy and Outreach Manager, Sherri Knuth, atsknuth@lwvmn.org
League of Women Voters Duluth
Support a judicial system with the capacity to assure a speedy trial and equal justice for all.
Selection of Judges: initial appointment of judgeship by the governor, choosing from list forwarded by nominating commission. End-of-term evaluation of judges' performance by an evaluation commission with results made available to the public. Retention election: voters choose to retain or not retain the judge.
The following statement of position was adopted by LWV Duluth members and 33 other Minnesota chapter members across the state after review of the state wide study committee report, and voted overwhelmingly (99%) in favor of the merit selection/retention method for selecting and retaining Minnesota's judges. To read the full report go to www.lwvmn.org.
LWVMN affirms that the judiciary is a co-equal branch of government under the Constitution that must operate in accordance with the principles of independence, impartiality and fairness. A judge's first duty is to the rule of law.
LWVMN supports a process of judicial selection and retention that produces judges who:
• are independent and not beholden to any special interest, moneyed interest, or
partisan interest.
• are accountable to the Constitution and to the rule of law.
• are competent and possess integrity.
• afford fair treatment to all participants.
LWVMN supports a system of judicial selection and retention that:
• provides for a role for the public.
• is as free from political influence as possible.
LWVMN supports a system of selection and retention of district court and appellate courts judges that includes:
I. initial appointment to judgeship by the governor, who is required to choose from a list of candidates forwarded by a nominating commission;
II. end-of-term evaluation of the judge's performance by an evaluation commission, results to be made available to the public;
III retention election: voters choose to retain or not retain the judge. The nominating and evaluation commissions should be broadly based and nonpartisan.
Protecting Minnesota’s courts can’t wait, which is why we need you to sign on with LWV Minnesota as a supporter of the Coalition for Impartial Justice, a bipartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to empowering voters, restoring accountability, and limiting the influence of campaign money on judicial campaigns.
Sign the petition to protect MN courts.
LWV Minnesota supports a strong independent and impartial judiciary. Our 2007-08 study recommends a process of merit selection and retention elections. Educating Minnesotans about this reform is a key facet of ourState of Democracy program. Three of our local LWVs—Rochester, Duluth and St. Cloud—are partnering with the Coalition for Impartial Justice to hold town
hall forums this fall.
The Impartial Justice Act is extremely important to the future of Minnesota’s judicial system. Its three key reforms are:
- Mandatory Merit Selection to ensure quality and impartiality
- Retention Elections to empower voters to hold judges accountable
- Public Performance Evaluations to give voters Information so they can decide.
Ask your friends to support the Impartial Justice Act and tell their
legislators that we can’t wait for big money court races to come to Minnesota. We need to act now to prevent out-of-state special interests from having the ability to buy a seat on the bench.
Thank you for your continued support. If you have questions, please contact LWV Minnesota’s Policy and Outreach Manager, Sherri Knuth, atsknuth@lwvmn.org
League of Women Voters Duluth
Support a judicial system with the capacity to assure a speedy trial and equal justice for all.
Selection of Judges: initial appointment of judgeship by the governor, choosing from list forwarded by nominating commission. End-of-term evaluation of judges' performance by an evaluation commission with results made available to the public. Retention election: voters choose to retain or not retain the judge.
The following statement of position was adopted by LWV Duluth members and 33 other Minnesota chapter members across the state after review of the state wide study committee report, and voted overwhelmingly (99%) in favor of the merit selection/retention method for selecting and retaining Minnesota's judges. To read the full report go to www.lwvmn.org.
LWVMN affirms that the judiciary is a co-equal branch of government under the Constitution that must operate in accordance with the principles of independence, impartiality and fairness. A judge's first duty is to the rule of law.
LWVMN supports a process of judicial selection and retention that produces judges who:
• are independent and not beholden to any special interest, moneyed interest, or
partisan interest.
• are accountable to the Constitution and to the rule of law.
• are competent and possess integrity.
• afford fair treatment to all participants.
LWVMN supports a system of judicial selection and retention that:
• provides for a role for the public.
• is as free from political influence as possible.
LWVMN supports a system of selection and retention of district court and appellate courts judges that includes:
I. initial appointment to judgeship by the governor, who is required to choose from a list of candidates forwarded by a nominating commission;
II. end-of-term evaluation of the judge's performance by an evaluation commission, results to be made available to the public;
III retention election: voters choose to retain or not retain the judge. The nominating and evaluation commissions should be broadly based and nonpartisan.
