Litigation

Justice at Stake Hails ?Major? Advances in 2009

By Peter Hardin

The Justice at Stake Campaign hailed 2009 as a year of historic victories for court reform, led by “major” wins in the U.S. Supreme Court and in Michigan and Wisconsin, two of the nation’s most heated judicial election battlegrounds.

Bert Brandenburg, executive director of Justice at Stake, called 2009 “the year that growing public concern translated into concrete reforms to keep courts fair, impartial and free from special-interest influence.” He added, “Decision-makers are joining the American public in saying, enough is enough. Justice should not appear to be for sale.”

In a news release, the nonpartisan national national watchdog group highlighted these court reform victories:

• U.S. Supreme Court decision in Caperton v. Massey. In this case, Brandenburg said, the high court found that “Contributors can support a judge’s election, but there is no right to the judge of your choice. Once an election is over, the Constitution guarantees everyone a fair day in court, and in some cases, judges may now have to step aside to protect that right.”
• Michigan Recusal Reform. The state Supreme Court  toughened standards for when judges must step aside from hearing a case, authorizing the entire state Supreme Court to review decisions on recusal by individual justices to determine whether there is an unacceptable ethical conflict.
• Public Financing in Wisconsin. Wisconsin became the third state to adopt public financing for state appellate court elections, joining North Carolina and New Mexico. The goal is to curb the influence of special-interest money on judicial elections and get judges out of the business of raising money from people who appear before them in court.

These and other reforms show a clear preference by Americans for courts accountable not to special interests or politics, but to the law.

Full post as published by The Gavel on December 21, 2009 (boomark / email).