When several lawyers announce that they are running for seats on a county bench in Pennsylvania, they are entering one of the few judicial systems in the English-speaking world where trial judges are chosen in partisan elections.
The court
The Court of Common Pleas is Pennsylvania's general trial court. Each of the state's 60 judicial districts has one; Chester County forms the 15th Judicial District. Common Pleas judges hear serious criminal cases, major civil disputes, family matters, and appeals from minor courts.
How judges are chosen
- Partisan elections. Candidates for a first full term run in party primaries and then in the November general election. Judicial candidates are allowed to cross-file, appearing on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots.
- Ten-year terms. A judge elected to the court serves a ten-year term.
- Retention elections. At the end of a term, a sitting judge does not face opponents. Voters are asked a yes-or-no question about whether the judge should be retained.
- Vacancies. When a seat falls vacant between elections, the Governor can nominate a replacement with the consent of the state Senate. That appointee then has to run in the next municipal election to keep the seat.
- Retirement. Judges must retire at the end of the year in which they turn 75, after a 2016 constitutional amendment raised the age from 70.
What candidates can say
Judicial candidates are bound by a code of conduct. They cannot make pledges about how they will decide cases, and in Pennsylvania they generally cannot personally solicit campaign contributions; committees raise money for them. Local bar associations often rate candidates as recommended or not recommended.
The debate
Supporters say elections keep judges accountable to the communities they serve. Critics, including some bar groups and reform organisations, argue that partisan campaigns and fundraising put pressure on judicial independence and that most voters know little about the candidates. Proposals to move to merit selection for appellate judges have been debated in Harrisburg for decades without passing.
Why it matters
Compare this with the way judges are appointed in the UK, including the judge chairing the Finucane inquiry, who were appointed through an independent commission rather than elected. Each system is trying to balance independence and accountability in a different way.