Governor Rendell just finished delivering his 2010-2011 budget address before the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In discussing his reform priorities, the Governor said:

[O]ur courts are faced with a serious credibility crisis. After all that has recently occurred, the time has clearly come to move a merit selection amendment through both chambers because it will have widespread public support and because it’s the right thing to do. These are important steps forward on the road to reform. Let’s enact the laws that restrict the ability of special interests to unduly impact our policies and manipulate our process. Let’s put Pennsylvanians first.

It is time to put Pennsylvanians first, as the Governor said, and select judges in a non-partisan, merit-based manner rather than in the expensive partisan elections we currently have which virtually ensure that judges hear cases from parties that have contributed to them directly.