Entering the homestretch of his 24-year run as Ohio's top jurist, retiring Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer wants to crown his legacy by changing the way justices get their jobs on the Ohio Supreme Court.

But Moyer's plan to ask voters to replace the current system of popularly electing the seven justices with one in which they would be appointed by the governor has been wounded by friendly fire.

Led by Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, at least three of the court's justices favor keeping the elective system.

"I just think that people are smart enough and there's enough information out there for them to make those judgments about who should serve on the court," Stratton told The Dispatch.

Stratton made her case in a 19-page analysis she sent to Moyer and the other justices last week. She said a majority of her colleagues support her position.

Justice Paul E. Pfeifer, who has the most seniority behind Moyer, declared the chief justice's idea dead.

"I will tell you this idea is going nowhere," said Pfeifer, who declined to disclose his own views in the absence of a written proposal. "Consequently, I'm not sure why (Moyer) even wants to bring it up at this point."

Justice Judith Lanzinger, who is running for re-election, and Justice Maureen O'Connor, who is running for Moyer's job, expressed support for keeping the current system of electing justices. Justices Terrence O'Donnell and Robert R. Cupp could not be reached.

"No method for judicial selection is ideal and without problems," O'Connor said. "I believe that we should work with the elective system and concentrate on educating the public about the qualifications, records and philosophies of each candidate. The public can then decide who deserves their vote, trust and confidence."

Moyer said his colleagues' opposition to "merit selection" is neither surprising nor fatal to the plan. "I think it's difficult to find across the country a sitting justice of a Supreme Court who has gotten there by the elective system who says they don't like it."

At a conference in November, Moyer and leaders of groups such as the Ohio State Bar Association and the League of Women Voters of Ohio supported a plan to ask voters to amend the constitution, possibly in 2011, to supplant direct election of justices with an appointive process.

Under the system, the governor would fill vacancies on the court by choosing among three candidates who are recommended by a bipartisan panel of lawyers and laypeople. A justice would serve two years and then stand in a retention election with no opponent. Retention elections would be held at regular intervals after that.

Moyer and other proponents of merit selection say Ohio's proposal would contain elements of such a plan, but they haven't released a specific outline.

Moyer and others argue that citizens' confidence in the court's impartiality has been eroded by big money spent by special interests in judicial races, leading to a perception that justices can be bought. Winners in Supreme Court elections routinely raise and spend

$1 million or more, and outside groups spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in independent efforts to influence judicial campaigns.

Moyer said public-opinion surveys consistently show that 75 percent of respondents believe that campaign contributions influence judges' votes on cases. "Even four out of 10 judges say that," he said. "With that staring you in the face, the other arguments for an elective system just wash away."

With advocacy groups lining up behind Moyer's proposal, Stratton said she felt compelled "to lay out the arguments in favor of judicial elections." She called Supreme Court elections "open and transparent," noting that candidates are subjected to questioning by the news media and other groups and must disclose their sources of funding.

"The appointive system gives the pick to one person, the governor," Stratton said.

Of the 41 judges Strickland, a Democrat, has appointed to vacancies through February, only one is a Republican, she said.

"The governor will almost always pick a judge from his or her political party who shares the same political ideology."

Moyer and Meg G. Flack, president of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said they will continue working with others on a merit-selection plan to take to voters.

"We hope by educating folks, even those who are opposed at this time, we might get them to see the advantages of reforming the system," Flack said.

jhallett@dispatch.com
jnash@dispatch.com