A trio of lawyers, including a former Supreme Court Chief Justice, pitched a new way of picking judges to a skeptical group of state senators.

Armed with stories of questionable candidates and recent scandals, N.C. Bar Association officers asked a Senate committee Thursday to consider a system that the proponents said would make electing judges less of a crap shoot.

The bill describes a nominating commission that would vet candidates for Superior Court and appellate court seats and present two candidates to the governor. The governor would select one.

In the statewide general election that's held at least seven months after the vacancy is filled, the incumbent and the candidate not chosen would run for the seat. The winner would run in a retention election after the eight-year term.

To make such a change, voters would have to approve a constitutional amendment.

Some senators questioned having a special panel pick candidates, saying it should be up to voters to weigh qualifications. Senators talked about the bill, but did not vote on it. Proposals for changing how judges are selected are common in the legislature, but they don't go anywhere.

Proponents of the proposal said it is risky to have open elections for important offices where voters know little about the candidates' qualifications.

"It's trying to eliminate the risk to the bench in having judges who are unqualified," said Martin Brinkley of Raleigh, the Bar Association's incoming president.

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Exum recalled the 1974 election for Chief Justice, when incumbent Susie Sharp was challenged by a fire extinguisher salesman. The salesman had beaten a Greensboro District Court judge, Elreta Alexander, in the Republican primary.

Exum referred to polls from 2008 and 2009 that showed majorities want to continue voting on judges, but support picking between candidates nominated by a commission.

"I believe the people of North Carolina will like this measure very well," he said.

Eight lawyers and eight nonlawyers would sit on the commission, with appointments made by the governor, the House Speaker and the Senate leader, and the majority and minority leaders of each chamber.

Senators questioned whether the job of selecting the best candidate should be turned over to a commission. Sen. Eric Mansfield, a Cumberland County Democrat, wondered whether he or his fellow committee members would have made the cut if they had to go through a commission to get on the ballot.

John Wester, a Charlotte lawyer and former Bar Association president, said the job of a legislator is different from that of a judge. Legislators make laws and respond to public opinion, Wester said, while judges "must be obedient to the rule of law."

Webster mentioned two Mecklenburg County District Court judges, Bill Belk who resigned in 2009 and was later banned from the bench, and Judge John Totten, who has been in trouble twice in the past year. Last year, he was suspended for making inappropriate comments to court personnel. He is currently facing misconduct charges for allegedly suppressing evidence in a DWI case. District Court judges are not covered in this proposal.

Despite the warnings about electing bad judges, most of the senators who spoke were not convinced a commission should limit voters' choices.

"We have the potential to reduce freedom and liberty," said Sen. Dan Soucek, R-Boone. "Democracy is messy at times."