This year's campaigns for the state's top court are behind us now. (Applause light on.) Not to fear, there'll be plenty more campaigns to come. That is unless the state decides to change the way judges are selected for the bench, at least the appellate benches. There is talk of going to a system of merit selection, as many other states have done, and getting rid of campaigns for the state's judicial seats--at least at the highest levels. Even without a crystal ball, we can see a lot of argument in the future.
Some will argue for keeping the people involved via elections. Some will say your people, sir, is a great beast. (Hamilton, A.) But there appears to be one thing in judicial matters about which most can agree: Transparency is always a good thing. And the faster the transparency, the better.
Take, for awful example, the last judicial races for the Arkansas Supreme Court: Here it is April, after Easter, spring has sprung, the afternoons are warm, and the public is only just now learning about some of the campaign donations made just prior to the March 1 election. For once, don't fault the candidates. According to the papers (more specifically, our own Lisa Hammersly), Arkansas' campaign financial reporting rules didn't require reporting those late-arriving contributions until after the election.
Imagine that: In this day and age, this state's reporting rules don't require disclosing last-minute contributions until weeks after the election. Word is that the final campaign reports aren't due till May 2, months after the election.
If changing, or not changing, the way judges are placed on the bench is going to be a trial, it would seem requiring faster disclosure about donors would be an easy fix.
Go electronic, to begin with. If you can pay your natural gas bill with your smart phone, then something tells us technology has evolved far enough that judicial candidates can file disclosure forms electronically. And within days of the campaign contribution. Campaign staffers know how to target particular websites and ZIP codes for advertising purposes. Oh, yes, they can certainly file campaign reports electronically. And within 48 hours of getting the check.
This may be only a first step, but it's an easy first step. So why not take it?
The hard stuff--judicial campaigns? merit selection?--can come later. First, let's learn to walk. In the right direction.
Editorial on 04/01/2016