Recommended Citation

Hugh D. Spitzer and William S. Bailey, Is Washington Ready for Merit Selection of Judges, 35 Wash. St. B. News 66 (1981), https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-articles/788

Authors

Hugh D. Spitzer, University of Washington School of LawFollow
William S. Bailey, University of Washington School of LawFollow

Is Washington Ready for Merit Selection of Judges

Keywords

judicial selection, Washington State

Document Type

Article

Abstract

In 1980, Seattle established a judicial merit selection process for the Seattle Municipal Court, based on an approach used in many other jurisdictions and by the federal government under President Carter. The Seattle plan represents the first time a merit selection commission of lawyers and lay people has been used for nonfederal appointments in Washington. The two individuals subsequently appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court have gone through one of this state's most rigorous judicial selection processes.

In this article, we will review how judges are presently selected in this state, the various methods of choosing judges in other jurisdictions and then discuss Seattle's experience with "merit selection." Then we will suggest the extent to which merit selection might be applied to other judgeships in Washington.