New York State’s chief justice is signaling that she will spend her last two years on the bench fighting to improve the public’s confidence in the judiciary, which has been plagued by scandals.

Chief Judge Judith Kaye and Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman announced yesterday the appointment of 12 independent commissions charged with reviewing the qualifications of candidates in judicial elections.

The screening committees were created in response to a report last February issued by the Commission to Promote Public Confidence in Judicial Elections, which found that the public’s trust in New York’s judiciary has been damaged by how judicial elections are conducted.

According to a Marist poll, 80% of registered voters think campaign contributions influence judicial decisions in court. To restore confidence in the judiciary, the New York State Bar Association has called for an end to elections and the creation of a merit selection process. By reviewing all candidates for state or civil judgeships before party nominations, the independent commissions could improve the system without changing it entirely.

Although the commissions’ findings will not be binding, Judge Lippman said he expects that party leaders will demand the commissions’ “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” and that if they don’t, the voters will.

The executive director of the Fund for Modern Courts, Dennis Hawkins, said he agrees that voters will heed the commissions’ suggestions. Like the New York State Bar Association, Mr. Hawkins advocates a constitutional amendment that would replace the current election system with appointments, but he said he believes that the commissions are a step in the right direction.