SAM JANESCH | Staff WriterThe Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision to throw out the old congressional districts and draw new ones has inspired a Lancaster County lawmaker to propose that those justices should be subjected to their own district lines.
Sen. Ryan Aument's proposal would establish "judicial districts" — making appellate judges in the Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth courts run for their seats in specific regions rather than in statewide races.
Aument said the change would "diversify" the courts by electing more judges outside the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas, where most of the current judges hail from.
"It's important in ensuring that all Pennsylvanians are represented on our courts," said Aument, of Landisville.
His proposal comes after the state's highest court ruled in January the congressional district map was unconstitutional and then opted to institute a new one.
Aument said he wasn't necessarily opposed to the initial decision. But he had "serious concerns" about the "overreach" by the court when it established new lines, a process that the Legislature has constitutional authority to handle.
Many other Republican officials have voiced similar concerns, including some who said it was enough to impeach the justices.
Aument's new bill, he said, is not a retaliatory move, though that case did spur him to introduce it.
"It's certainly not a response in terms of some vindictive effort to punish the court," Aument said. "It's a topic that I've been interested in."
He also said he wouldn't "go so far as to say a bias" exists in the court because of its geographical makeup.
But electing more judges from other areas "would bring an important perspective" in cases that can have varied implications by region, like school funding or property taxes, he said.
"Various regions of the state see the issue (of property taxes) differently, and to have that perspective looking through the lens of our Constitution … I think it's important. That's valuable," he said.
Senate Democrats are not yet commenting on the bill, spokeswoman Brittany Crampsie said.
Mary F. Platt, chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, said in a statement, “We need the best appellate court judges and justices without regard to where they live or practice.”
What it would do
In the draft of Aument's bill, judicial districts would be drawn by the Legislature with the same criteria as they have for legislative and congressional districts. Those include factors like equal population in every district, and making them compact and contiguous.
They'd be redrawn after the census is conducted every 10 years, like the other districts.
But potential changes to both the redistricting process and the judicial system make the proposal a moving target.
One bill, pushed by advocacy groups like Fair Districts PA, would take redistricting authority out of the hands of legislators and give it to an independent citizens commission. Republicans in a House committee Wednesday voted to amend that bill so that the commission would instead include just six lawmakers.
Fair Districts PA has not studied the idea of judicial districts, said spokesman Alex Rich.
Another bill prioritized by Peach Bottom Republican Rep. Bryan Cutler could also affect Aument's legislation. House Bill 111 would establish a merit-based system where appellate court judges are initially appointed instead of elected statewide by voters.
Cutler, who serves as House majority whip, has pushed the idea for years and said this week that Republicans were actively discussing it again.
Aument said he supports the merit-selection system and would be open to joining the proposals — both of which would require a yearslong process to amend the state constitution.
The Philadelphia Bar Association supports Cutler’s bill, which includes provisions for consideration of judges who “reflect the geographic, racial, ethnic, gender and other diversity of the commonwealth,” Platt said.
