Circuit Judge Appointment Primer

The News-Gazette had an expert explanation of the recent Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge appointment today (previous post on that appointment here):

Deliberate process in appointing a judge
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 The retirement of Judge Jones created a vacancy in the office of circuit judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Champaign County, Illinois. The Illinois Supreme Court justice responsible for this area, Justice Rita Garman, had a choice to make. She could have chosen to leave the position open until it could be filled by the general election of 2018. This would have left a busy court shorthanded, creating an adverse impact on the court’s ability to address cases in a timely fashion.

In the alternative, Justice Garman could have sought out a person who agreed to serve in the interim but not run. Typically, this “caretaker” role would be undertaken by a retired judge or senior lawyer willing to step out of the practice for a limited stint on the bench. The pros and cons of this approach could fill the balance of this column. Suffice it to say that the cons outweighed the pros in this situation and another approach was employed.

Justice Garman decided that the position would be filled by a person who would be willing to run for the seat in 2018. Filling the open judgeship in this manner is a task for the Illinois Supreme Court with Justice Garman taking the lead due to the location of the judicial vacancy. A notice of the vacancy was published in a variety of ways and interested candidates were given directions regarding the application process.

A citizen panel was created to review applications, check references and evaluate the candidates. In addition to lawyers, this group included business and community representatives. These people were asked to perform an important task. They accepted the invitation and jumped to the challenge. The members of the panel did not receive compensation. They certainly deserve our thanks.

Several lawyers applied for the position. Interestingly, the number was smaller than the number of persons who recently sought the position of associate circuit judge. Given that the circuit judge position carries a larger salary and is a higher rank in the judiciary, the reader may be puzzled by this disparity. In my mind, it is explained by the fact that the person appointed will have to run for the seat in the 2018 election. The prospect of running for office causes some to forgo the pursuit. Some people consider this a flaw in the system. They think people who would be good judges are deterred. Others reject that and claim that the position should be held only by those willing to go through the campaign process. All those who applied deserve credit. They put themselves out there and faced the consequences. Having faced citizen panels and judges in the appointment process (including times when I was not chosen), I know that this is difficult and stressful. There was one position to be filled. As a result, each person seeking the position faced disappointment.

As has been reported, the Supreme Court chose Jason Bohm as the circuit judge replacing Judge Jones.

 Full article here.