CBC Edmonton spoke to Prof. Troy Riddell, chair of the Department of Political Science, for an article examining how Alberta is appointing provincial court judges.

Riddell is an expert on judicial politics and has written extensively on partisanship in judicial appointments.

The article noted that the Alberta justice minister recently purged the committee that vets potential judges and instead recruited new members through a closed process.

Riddell noted that Alberta is not alone in having poor protection for these committees, “so it leaves a lot of discretion in the hands of the minister.”

He said the province should take regulatory steps to formalize the appointments process and prevent the mass replacement of a committee.

Along with his expertise in judicial appointments, Riddell also examines criminal justice policy, including sentencing decisions and Charter application decisions.