State Rep. Robby Robbins has been largely invisible since he won his seat in a special election in 2022. Now, he has finally surfaced in a most unfortunate manner.

One of the key issues facing the legislature in 2024 is reforming the corrupt system of choosing judges in South Carolina. We are one of only two states in the nation (Virginia being the other) where the legislature members pick the judges. The Governor has no role. The public has no role. It is a monopoly of the legislature.

A Judicial Merit Selection Committee (JMSC) made up of legislators selects a few candidates for the bench. These candidates are then presented to the legislature for "election." The JMSC's methods for choosing candidates are secretive.

The result of this process is that we are not getting the best candidates. Further, these same legislators who control the selection process are often lawyers in private practice. They argue cases in front of the judges they have put on the bench. If those judges issue rulings that displease them, the lawyer-legislators can maneuver them off the bench once their term has expired. It's a process that guts the very notion of an independent judiciary.

Which brings us to Robbins. He is a lawyer-legislator and a former solicitor. He sits on the Judiciary Committee, which has the power to suggest reforms to this corrupt system. Robbins could play a constructive role in this process. However, he stated in mid-December at a committee hearing he strongly favors the status quo. He said the only problem is "public perception" there is a problem. In other words, we citizens and the journalists who inform us are the problem, not legislators such as Robbins.

This is arrogant nonsense. Robbins should read the excellent coverage of this problem provided by the Post and Courier. He would discover the many occasions when lawyer-legislators received friendly decisions from "their" judges that aided their clients but hurt the public interest. Robbins should listen to First District Solicitor David Pascoe, who has made reform of this system a central issue.

If Robbins wants to be re-elected, he needs to radically change his view on this issue or convince voters there is a reason to trust his judgment in selecting judges. However, any legislator who thinks the problem is "public perception" is off to a bad start.

David M. Rubin

Summerville