No disagreement here about the failings of elected judges, but if partisanship is something to be avoided, then having appointed judges can often be just as bad. The politician doing the appointments will surely pick judges that align with their party's ideals.

In the best case, when the executive and the legislature are in opposition—and appointments must clear both branches—then you have opposing forces that hopefully weed out the most partisan of judges.

My proposal is to have candidate judges throw their name on a list. Whenever a spot needs filling, then each of 3 committees makes their selections from that list. Those 3 committees would be (1) current judges, (2) prosecutors, and (3) defense attorneys.

Only if a majority of each group blesses a candidate, would that candidate be eligible for appointment by the governor.