TO THE NEW ERA EDITORS:

We applaud your editorial, "Retired justice's plan has merit" (9/21), which recognizes that the current system of electing our statewide appellate judges in Pennsylvania is deeply flawed.

The time has come to recognize that this is, indeed, a pressing matter.

With the scandals in the Luzerne County court system, the continuing flow of special interest money into state court elections, and the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in October (in the Citizens United case) that corporations have a fundamental right to spend freely on state elections, it's high time for a groundswell of Pennsylvania voices to let our leaders know we want our judges selected by their qualifications, not by a popularity contest and not by a fundraising arms race.

David Caroline

and Shira J. Goodman
Pennsylvanians for

Modern Courts

Philadelphia