The Southern

JUDICIAL CANDIDATES DISCUSS IDEAS, ISSUES AT SIU LAW SCHOOL
BY JEFF SMYTH
THE SOUTHERN
[Tue Sep 07 2004]
CARBONDALE -- Illinois Supreme Court candidate Gordon Maag said if he were elected he'd create a blue ribbon panel comprised of private citizens to screen potential circuit and appellate court judge appointees.
Maag made the comments yesterday as a guest of the SIU School of Law. Also speaking was Lloyd Karmeier, who is running against Maag for the Fifth Judicial District seat of the state's highest court.
Maag said creating the panel was in response to questions he's heard on the campaign trail regarding who selects judges. Some, particularly physicians, Maag spoke to regarding the medical malpractice crisis where leery of the current appointment process.
Under state law, if a vacancy on a circuit or appellate court is created, the Supreme Court justice from the district recommends an appointee. Those appointed must then run for the seat in the next election.
"I would impanel a blue ribbon panel of a local doctor, a local small business owner, an attorney, a member of the clergy, law enforcement and a labor organization to review credentials," Maag said. "They would recommend three people to me and I'd pick one of the three. If it was a good choice, they could take some of the credit. If it was a bad choice, they could take some of the blame." Maag, a resident of Glen Carbon, is currently an appellate court judge running as a Democrat for the first seat on the Illinois Supreme Court's Fifth Judicial District to open up since 1992. Karmeier, of Nashville, is the resident judge of Washington County in the 20th Judicial Circuit and is running as a Republican. The candidates were given 20 minutes to talk about themselves and why they aspire to a Supreme Court judgeship. Under the code of ethics of judges, they will not talk of their views on issues that may one day be addressed by the court.
"The race for Supreme Court is different than any other political offices," Karmeier said. "Judges can't get involved in making promises. We can't speak of what we'd do any issue that would come before the court."
Karmeier said he is concerned for the beating the legal profession is taking as a result of the medical malpractice crisis that was spawned in Madison County, from where Maag hails. This race is pitting trial lawyers who back the Democrat against tort reform advocates backing the Republican. He also wonders if electing judges is the best route to take.
"The indication is that is may be a very expensive race," Karmeier said. "We have the focus of the entire United States on this race. It makes it difficult for people outside the law to believe that this is a system that can work. They might think that we as judges are nothing more than politicians who have to raise money."