Idaho Supreme Court Justice Roger Burdick now says he misspoke when he said in a televised campaign debate that Idaho’s long-standing school funding lawsuit isn’t over. “That was a misstatement,” Burdick told The Spokesman-Review on Monday. “We indicated the case was over.” The end of the drawn-out case, which stretched for 19 years, came in late 2005 after the Idaho Supreme Court ruled the state’s system for funding school construction unconstitutional and ordered the Legislature to fix it, then closed the case without any further action or review of subsequent legislative changes/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

DFO: Some would like judges and justices to be appointed to their posts rather than facing the electorate. Not me. I'm delighted that Burdick has to answer tough questions about the Supreme Court's handling of the schools lawsuit. Someone should ask him re: the court's handling of the Sanders Beach controversy, too.

Question: Would you rather see Supreme Court justices elected or appointed?