Twinkle speaks up for judicial elections

The state GOP will oppose the Alabama Bar Association's plan to appoint appellate court judges rather than elect them.

The plan is "a Democrat-led effort" to take away the right of voters to select judges, said Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, the GOP head.

"At a time when voters have serious concerns about the role of judges in society, we believe we ought to focus on making judges more accountable to the people they serve rather than less accountable," she said...

But ABA President Bobby Segall said he has worked with a bipartisan and "very conservative" committee of lawyers to draft a proposed amendment to the Alabama Constitution on the issue. He said it has been a goal of the ABA for a number of years and is aimed at ending the costly partisan battles that have raised the perception that judges have a conflict because of the money contributed to their campaigns...

In a news release, Cavanaugh questioned the role of Segall in coming up with the proposal, calling the Bar Association president "an ACLU attorney."

"Mr. Segall and his liberal friends in the plaintiff trial bar have been losing elections because they have a losing agenda. Now they want to change the rules because they know they can't win otherwise," Cavanaugh said.