Litigation

Political Donations by TN Justices in Spotlight

By Peter Hardin

A newspaper’s report about Tennessee judges making donations to political campaigns has ignited controversy.

The Tennesseean reported that in the past four election cycles, judges donated more than $204,000 to candidates for governor and for the legislature. The article zeroed in on political donations of more than $26,000 by members of the state Supreme Court and state Appeals Court. These jurists initially are appointed, and later run on a retention (up-or-down) ballot every eight years.

Two Supreme Court justices gave money last year to the campaign of an opponent to Republican state Sen. Mike Bell, who is championing a switch in Tennessee from merit selection to election of the state’s highest judges. (You can read Bell’s commentary, published in The Tennesseean, by clicking here.)

One of the donors to Bell’s opponent, Justice Gary Wade,  said he was concerned about opening up the bench to special interest spending if elections took the place of appointment. Justice Wade, who gave $3,600 to candidates from both parties, defended his own giving to political campaigns:

“Contributing to campaigns from time to time doesn’t mean that I cannot and most jurists cannot compartmentalize those issues.

“All of us have a constitutional right to support any candidate of our choice, and yet when I put on the black robe, partisan politics and friendships play no role.”

That drew sharp questioning in American Courthouse from Dan Pero, who asked:

“If Justice Wade makes a campaign contribution, he can just ‘compartmentalize’ it and still render fair rulings.  But if he accepts a contribution, suddenly he?s compromised and unable to set aside bias?

Justice Wade is right about his ‘constitutional right’ to donate to the candidate of his choice.  But he?s using that ‘right’ to try to block the people of his state from exercising a no less important ‘right’ guaranteed by Tennessee?s Constitution ? the right to pick the judges who serve them.”

Shira Goodman of JudgesonMerit.org, sponsored by the JAS partner group Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, quoted Pero and then challenged the Tennessee justices’ political donations from a different viewpoint. In her state, judges can make political donations only when they’re in an election themselves, she wrote. She added:

“Judges should of course have the right to vote like all other citizens, but judges do give up certain rights when they take the bench ? this should include overt political or financial support in elections.

“Judges should not be in the business of raising or making political contributions.  Even the Pennsylvania restrictions on judicial contributions do not go far enough ? money and politics should stay out of the courtroom. The best way to accomplish that is to keep judges out of the electoral system ? whether as candidates or political supporters.”

Full post as published by The Gavel on January 20, 2011 (boomark / email).