I believe the time has come to discard this anachronism. As matters stand today, each member of the Arkansas Supreme Court stood for election as a member of the Democratic Party. In 1997, the nonpartisan bill did not see the light of day because the perception, at least, was that Republican legislators supported it and Democrats did not. In Texas, conversely, the recent experience on comparable legislation has been that Democrats applauded non-partisan judicial elections while Republicans did not. Thus, the conventional wisdom has become that the party with current statewide dominance prefers to keep their judges partisan.
Partisanship strikes at the very heart of judicial independence.
And whether absolute party loyalty is real or not, the appearance of partisanship will linger so long as party labels are attached to judicial candidates. It is no wonder that litigants representing a different political party than the Democratic Party would feel more than a twinge of concern when appearing before the Arkansas Supreme Court. Let me hasten to add that the concern is unfounded, but the concern, understandably, remains. Since 1991, the year I became a member of the Supreme Court, numerous cases have been heard by our Court where the political party of the justices became an express or implied issue. With a party label emblazoned across the chest of each justice, a basic question of fairness in such cases can become not only an issue but the issue.