Educating the public about judicial elections
PMC plans to hold educational programs for the public about the upcoming elections. In the past, we have held forums about how to communicate with judicial candidates in light of new rules governing speech by judicial candidates.
On May 10, PMC cosponsored a forum with the Committee of Seventy and the League of Women Voters on upcoming elections. TARP (Temple Association of Retired Persons) hosted the forum. The forum explored how to make sense of the judicial elections: with so many candidates running for the various levels of courts, how can voters get relevant information to help them select future judges? Panelists included Sandy Shea of the Philadelphia Daily News, Russell Cooke of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Irv Randolph of the Philadelphia Tribune, Michael Bloom of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Evaluation Commission, and Shelley Smith of the Philadelphia Bar Association's Judicial Evaluation Committee.
In addition, on April 27, Executive Director Lynn Marks moderated a public forum among the candidates for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. The forum was sponsored by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and the Committee of Seventy.
We intend to hold additional programs this fall in advance of the November general elections.
PMC also prepares guides of questions that the public, civic organizations and members of the media should consider as appropriate topics for discussion with judicial candidates. We believe these questions, which cover topics including a candidate's experience and issues of judicial administration, such as court funding, juries and efforts to eliminate bias from the court system, provide a framework for meaningful discussions with judicial candidates. Candidates' responses to these questions should provide voters with information relevant to the decisions they will face in the voters' booth. For PMC's updated guide to questioning judicial candidates, click here.
Many other organizations provide information about judicial candidates and judicial elections, including:
Legal Intelligencer (resources on elections and questionnaire answers of Supreme Court candidates)
