Surprise, surprise!

Justice At Stake (JAS) -- Funded by George Soros's Open Society Institute

... JAS suggests [a] system where judges are not elected but instead are appointed (or are recommended for appointment) by nonpartisan, independent commissions in a process known as “merit selection.” Pushing for the implementation of such a system one state at a time, JAS typically begins its efforts in each targeted state by financing public-opinion polls purporting to show that a majority of citizens therein believe that private campaign contributions compromise judicial fairness.

Next, the organization uses these poll findings to generate media coverage and financial support for an artificial “grassroots” campaign that recruits all manner of activists, academic “experts,” and nonprofit foundations to join the chorus advocating merit selection and demonizing opponents of this idea as agents of corruption. Finally, JAS lobbyists push for legislation or a constitutional amendment to make merit selection the law of the state. --DiscoverTheNetworks.org