Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 24.pdf/576

 The Editor's Bag TAKING THE BENCH OUT OF PARTY POLITICS There seems to be a growing ten dency to take the election of judges out of politics in states where the judges are elected by the people. One device favorable to this result is that of holding separate elections, at which no candidates other than those for judges are to be voted for and the attention of the public need not be diverted from the real issues by political and partisan considerations. When not only separate judicial elections are held, but bar primaries are also organized, the election of judges on a nonpartisan basis is pretty sure to come. The Chicago Bar Association has successfully applied the principle of the bar primary, in a state which has provided for separate elections. Presi dent Edgar B. Tolman, in his last annual report, indicated the ideal procedure to be followed. Broadening his sug gestions to make them apply to any bar association, we may say that bar primaries should be organized well in advance of party primaries or con ventions, and the co-operation of the press should be invited to aid in the nomination and election of those selected. Before the primary is held, however, full information regarding the fitness of all probable candidates should be pro cured and circulated among the mem bers of the bar. Such an arrangement saves members of the bar the annoyance of a flood of letters from those seeking

office, and candidates expenses of solici tation. The sending out of a complete circular to the members of the bar may well be coupled with a request that the latter shall avoid pledging them selves to support any candidate in ad vance of the announcement of the results of the bar primary. The action of the primary, secured by this fair and satisfactory method, is apt to be con clusive and to receive the support of both press and public. The plan of nonpartisan bar nomina tions has lately been tried in Denver, where candidates for five district judgeships were named this summer on a secret ballot, for presentation to the political party conventions in the hope of securing uncontested nominations. We understand that in Virginia the bar associations practically nominate and elect the judges, even the politicians acquiescing in the wisdom of this course. The next best thing to the nonpartisan method of choosing judges is the bipartisan method. It has been the custom in New York State, when two vacancies exist in the Court of Appeals, to nominate a Republican and a Demo crat, and most of the county bar associations have recently adopted reso lutions asking for the continuance of the custom this fall. It remains to be seen whether the party which has command of the situation will avoid the temptation this year to snatch two judgeships, or will yield to the strong pressure of the influence of the state