Citing errors, group pulls study of Pa. courts

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The American Judicature Society today pulled a study that looked at how often campaign contributors to Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices appear before the court, citing problems with its methodology.

The study’s findings were based on 112 civil cases that it said were decided in 2008 and 2009. But lead author Malia Reddick said today she mistakenly counted the docket numbers for all cases filed with the court and did not realize at the time that some were later consolidated into a single docket — throwing off the total and potentially skewing the analysis.

The 97-year-old society, based at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, describes itself as an independent group of judges, lawyers and citizens committed to improving the justice system.

The study, which was published in the society’s journal, Judicature, was intended to bolster the case for replacing Pennsylvania’s system of electing judges with one in which the governor would appoint jurists to the appellate courts based on the recommendations of a bipartisan panel.