AR Governor Backs Merit Selection for Appellate Judges

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has come out in favor of merit selection for judges on the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, Arkansas News' John Lyon reports. Hutchison said "'I am willing to give that some gubernatorial support, some gubernatorial initiative to help drive that re-examination to look at how we can better elect our judges and also have the people continue to be involved in that process.”'

Last year, a constitutional amendment to create merit selection for Supreme Court justices failed in a legislative session.