The first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court says there's a serious problem with the government in Washington and many other states: They elect their judges.

She told a sold-out audience that threats to judicial independence are rising exponentially as more and more money pours into judicial races around the country.

O'Connor advocates a system by which nonpartisan commissions select judges based on their merit. At the end of a judge's term voters could decide whether to retain them.