Constitutional Law

Expensive Judicial Races Worry Experts

Mississippi State Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Smith called for the appointment of state appellate judges rather than their election, citing increasingly expensive judicial campaigns and an ongoing federal judicial bribery investigation. Law and policy experts across the country have expressed similar concerns.

A recent study found that campaign donations to Louisiana Supreme Court justices by litigants — and not the judge's underlying philosophical orientation — often sway the outcome of cases, reported the New York Times. The Brennan Center for Justice and the Justice at Stake Campaign have compiled extensive information on judicial elections.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on February 02, 2008 (boomark / email).