HARRISBURG, PA — Legislation to replace the current process of voting for politically backed appellate judges in Pennsylvania with a merit-selection system was approved by the House Judiciary Committee on October 23, said state Rep. Pamela DeLissio, an early co-sponsor of the bill.

Under the bill, merit selection would employ a bipartisan citizens’ nominating commission of lawyers and non-lawyers selected by elected officials to review applicants’ qualifications and recommend a short list to the governor for nomination. After Senate confirmation, a judge would sit for four years and then voters would determine if the judge would serve an additional 10-year term.

“Merit selection for judges has been a topic that has interested me for many years,” said DeLissio, “I’ve always been fascinated on Election Day when judges are up for election, whether it’s the primary or the general election, and I—as a fairly astute voter—would scramble to try to understand what their backgrounds and credentials and qualifications are and look for the bar recommendations to understand who I was voting for. But it’s very difficult for voters to find the time to do that much homework. I think that the discussion about merit selection is a conversation that will help our citizens understand that there will be a true vetting process that currently doesn’t exist.”