Preserve Judicial Elections

Your Right to Vote is at risk!

Save Your Constitutional Right to directly elect Judges

The Minnesota Constitution (Article VI) states that judges: “shall be elected by the voters”.
Powerful legal and political interests are selling an amendment that asks you to surrender your own constitutional right to elect judges – forever. (George Soros is putting millions behind this.)
The “Quie Amendment” (HF1666) and its proponents want to eliminate your right to directly elect state judges.
Even some Republicans are being misled on this issue.
The Minnesota GOP Platform states that “We continue to support the election of judges as written in the Minnesota Constitution and oppose any proposals to eliminate or limit these elections”.
The scam being proposed is called retention elections (aka the Missouri Plan). Less than 1% of judges have been replaced in states with retention elections.
Retention elections give judges no direct accountability to the people and a life time of running without an opponent.
Retention elections arrange for your judges to be appointed and never elected. Nor will you ever be able to find a more qualified judge to run against a sitting
judge to replace him.
All judges under retention elections run completely unopposed. Once a judge is appointed, retention elections occur every few years. As the name retention states: the purpose is not to elect a better judge, but only to retain all incumbents – and create the illusion of accountability.
Just say NO to schemes asking you to surrender your constitutional rights.

For more information contact: MN 10th Judicial District Evaluation Committee PO Box 251401, Woodbury, MN 551125

Freedom Loving Citizens Alert!

Purpose: Why are people suddenly becoming more aware of how judges are selected?

MN Law: The MN Constitution requires election of judges by citizens. Over the decades self-serving practices have allowed Governors and legal elites to appoint a judge which has
effectively removed citizens’ rights to elect judges. At this time the MN Supreme Court has appointed itself the arbiter of judiciary discipline but it’s like the “fox guarding the henhouse” as long as the Supreme Court acts as disciplinary agent. It is the purview of the legislature to define discipline and ethics in statute as required by the Constitution.
The bills (listed below) will set out proper statutory controls of the judiciary under the oversight and auspices of the Legislature – the “checks and balances” provision among State government branches.

To protect the constitutional rights of Minnesota citizens: contact and support your State Senators and Representatives to enact House files:

HF 1536 (Shimanski) Modifies mandatory retirement for judges, removes incumbency designation; HF 1474 (Anderson) Creates judicial election districts, adjusts retirement issues;HF 1568 (Gruenhagen) Amends Board on Judicial Standards provisions and creates code of judicial conduct. (The Senate counterparts are: SF 523, SF 627 and SF 1097). The combined effect of these bills will:

Repeal the incumbent label on judicial ballots.
Require District Court Judges to be elected by the voters residing in the county where the Judge will serve.
Eliminate retirement and appointment practices which perpetuate judges being appointed and not elected (currently 94% of sitting judges have been appointed).
Establishes statutory ethical rules for judges.
Please ask your State Legislators to sign-on as a co-author to HF’s: 1536, 1474, 1568, SF’s: 523, 627 and 1097 and to reject HF 1666! Find your legislator at: http://www.leg.state.mn.us/. Click on > Who Represents Me? To get the contact information of your legislators.

Full text of these bills is at: www.leg.state.mn.us. Under MN State Legislature > click bill search and status, > then under House of Representatives, > enter the bill number.

“To assure election of judges by an informed electorate”