Chief Justice backs retention elections for judges

Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson supports switching to retention elections for the state’s judges. Magnuson made the announcement earlier today during his state-of-the-judiciary speech to the Minnesota State Bar Association.

Currently, judges face competitive elections every six years. But in reality few sitting jurists ever encounter significant electoral opposition. Under a retention scheme, voters would simply give the incumbent judge a thumbs up or thumbs down. Vacant spots would be filled by the governor. Such a change was backed by a panel led by former Gov. Al Quie that scrutinized judicial elections two years ago. Magnuson was named chief justice by Gov. Tim Pawlenty in March.