Merit selection of judges is why the federal courts are properly regarded by practicing attorneys as having a higher quality of judges than Pennsylvania state courts, where judges are elected. Most voters have little or no idea what judges do or what makes one candidate better suited to the job than another.

Both appointment and election of judges will remain subject to political influence, but merit selection is much more likely to give us the best judiciary that money can buy. That's another issue-- keeping judicial pay sufficiently competitive with private practice to attract good lawyers rather than political hacks.