Martinelli holds on to power to appoint new judge

In spite of calls from civil groups and lawyers for a more open way of choosing Supreme Court judges, President, Ricardo Martinelli repeated Saturday that he would not give up the power  to appoint a new judge.

His previous choice,   José Abel Almengor, resigned   Friday April  15 under a cloud of accusations, and facing the possibility of a trial by the National Assembly.

 "The Constitution is clear … the judges  are chosen by the President of the Cabinet, " said Martinelli.
When the last two appointments were made, the President refused to go to choose them from a list of 71 notables.  He complained that few people want to accept the post of judge, and when he decides, it rains criticism.

Almengor,  prior to his appointment, had resigned from his post as a prosecutor, while under investigation by the former Attorney General, Ana Matilde Gomez, whose removal from office  is alleged to have been engineered by a cabal of lawyers, including the sitting judge.