Perhaps the Speaker or Senate Rules Committee could also be given appointments. I encourage Governor Davis to give this proposal some serious consideration. I think a nominating commission system would be a great help to the Governor in attracting the best candidates for judicial office, in assuring diversity on the bench, and in opening up the process. With the unification of trial courts in 52 counties, appointments to the trial bench are even more important. In those 52 counties, the Governor can no longer use the municipal court as a training ground for superior court appointments.
Every appointment is as important as every other.
I'd like to turn now to the Legislature. The first thing you can do is to support any or all of the efforts I have previously mentioned. The last set of proposals I will mention could be implemented only by constitutional amendment and, for that reason, require very careful thought and planning. First, we could change the constitutional rule requiring appellate justices to stand for election immediately after appointment, an election that often is to a short term. Gerald Uelmen has previously suggested this approach, having new appointees stand for a full 12-year term.