Smith Backing Off Appointing Judges?

Statement

Smith Backing Off Appointing Judges?

It looks like Chief Justice Jim Smith is starting to back off his claims that appointed judges are the way to go. I wonder if his polling told him to do that?

We got word last month that a polling firm was calling some of our friends and supporters asking questions concerning a judicial race.

Now, in the first interview Justice Smith has given since his poll came back, he's backing off his desire to change the way our judges are selected.

According to a Meridian Star article in today's edition:

Smith said that he favors appointing judges on the appellate level (Court of Appeals and Supreme Court) only, but that he is "not looking for change at this time" in the method of selecting appellate judges.

Is that code for, "If I'm re-elected, that would be a good time to make the change. But for now, my polling said people don't want to lose their right to vote."

The chief justice has advocated this system for four years, and you can believe that if he is re-elected he'll make this his top priority.

If you value your right to vote over a politician's ability to appoint his cronies to cushy jobs, then you'll be happy to know that Jim Kitchens will fight any attempt to change the way we select our judges.

Source