Stalemate on judges over power, not merit

Why would anyone want to be a judge in Virginia right now?

The usual horse-trading over judicial appointments came to a halt this winter with Democrats in control of the state Senate and Republicans still dominant in the House of Delegates.

The impasse has left more than two dozen vacancies unfilled, and two incumbent judges in limbo. Court of Appeals Judge Robert Humphreys, a former Virginia Beach prosecutor, will at least temporarily be out of a job because his term ends on April 15, a week before legislators are scheduled to return to Richmond for a second try at untangling the snarl.

The turmoil threatens the ability of the courts to attract the best lawyers. Talented attorneys will be loath to trade their private practice or corporate post for the bench if that means not only a pay cut but the risk that a partisan snit will leave them unemployed after a few years.

Most of the unfilled judicial appointments are not controversial, but they are being held up by disagreements over a handful of elections to local circuits and to statewide posts. One of the most contentious battles features a power play by two of Hampton Roads' senior senators over a circuit court judgeship in Virginia Beach.

Republican Ken Stolle insists the post should go to Virginia Beach City Attorney Les Lilley because a majority of legislators residing in the city support him.

Democrat Yvonne Miller, whose district includes three Beach precincts, wants to promote General District Judge Gene Woolard to the higher court. Because her party holds a majority in the Senate, she claims the final say.

This is a contest about control, not about merit, and it highlights a serious shortcoming in Virginia's system for selecting judges.

Twenty-five states rely on merit selection commissions to vet and nominate candidates for at least some of their judicial appointments, but Virginia has yet to adopt this worthy reform.

Still, a system that gives more emphasis to merit will not eliminate disagreements over competing and well-qualified candidates, as is the case in Virginia Beach. If local lawmakers set aside their differences, however, there are at least two simple solutions.

First, the region could adopt a system used successfully for a dozen years in Fairfax County. Every legislator who represents part of the county gets a vote on judgeships. The delegation, Republicans and Democrats, meets together to interview candidates, and a majority vote determines the outcome.

Another alternative is to let the two parties take turns. Five Democratic legislators now represent portions of Virginia Beach, and they understandably want a chance to pick some of the city's judges.

In a speech two weeks ago to the Senate about judicial selection, Stolle called for the Fairfax model to be adopted statewide.

"The rules have been wrong for the last hundred and some years," he lamented.

As chairman of a committee that oversees state courts for the past eight years, he failed to right that wrong. Now in the minority, he has the motivation but not the power to compel change.

Miller is unimpressed with Stolle's newfound convictions. She has largely been sidelined in past years as Republicans held sway over bench appointments. Her patience was further tested this year when Stolle hosted a meeting to discuss the Beach judgeship but did not invite her.

Both senators deserve a voice in the process, but neither can realistically expect to have veto power. Miller and Stolle must find a way to work together and find an acceptable compromise. If they refuse, they are putting their own quest for control ahead of the greater need for a viable system of justice.