That a popularly-elected state judge in your pocket?
Judges should not have “constituents.” But in most American states, they still do. And there is no way to dress that up.
Election Day Reminder: If you can vote at the polls for a state judiciary candidate today, please don’t. Raise your aspirations. Go to the track, play pinball, drink Ripple, watch Gong Show reruns, or visit that “Leather World” alternative lifestyle clothing-and-book store on Route 73 you’ve always wondered about. From past WAC? posts:
Quick and dirty re: elected state judges and campaign money. We’ve followed and written a lot on the U.S. Supreme Court case about a popularly elected state supreme court judge, and campaign money recipient, who failed to disqualify himself in arguably suspect circumstances. The Court ruled in June of this year that a West Virginia judge should indeed have disqualified himself from hearing an appeal of a $50 million jury verdict against an a coal company because its CEO had been a major campaign donor. See slip opinion in Caperton v. Massey Coal Company (June 8, 2009).
The popular election of state judges–permitted in some aspect in a clear majority of the states–gives the appearance of justice being “for sale.” Elected judges can be especially “bad” for good clients who do business all over the U.S. and the world. Even when elected judges are “good”–and, to be fair, there are some great ones–state systems of popularly-elected judiciary will never inspire much confidence. Elected jurists who hear and decide business disputes are steeped in a taint.