Judges and Judiciary
Sep. 12, 2024
The case for reforming judicial elections in California
The current methods of filling judicial benches through costly elections with low voter turnout or appointment by the governor followed by an election are not effective at placing the best candidates on the bench. The sooner we eliminate judicial elections and develop a better alternative, the better.
Eugene M. Hyman
Judge (Ret.)
Santa Clara County Superior Court
Santa Clara Univ Law School
Eugene is a retired judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court, where for 20 years he presided over cases in the criminal, civil, probate, family and delinquency divisions of the court. He has presided over an adult domestic violence court and in 1999 presided over the first juvenile domestic violence and family violence court in the United States.
The ideal judge has an unwavering commitment to fairness, impartiality, and justice. Yet to fill its benches the state potentially relies on two methods: either through costly elections that routinely suffer from low voter turnout, or appointment by the governor (which are followed by an election at the end of the judicial term in either case.) Fortunately, most appointed judges do not face a contested election at the end of their judicial term and ultimately run u...
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