Tainted Justice

[groovedaddy]

One lesson of the 2008 election season is the escalating threat to the integrity and independence of the justice system from big-money state judicial campaigns.

In all, 26 State Supreme Court seats in 15 states were contested. Campaign filings prior to the election showed that the candidates had raised $29.4 million — almost the same as the 2006 cycle when five states broke judicial fund-raising records. As before, much of the money came from wealthy interests hoping to buy favorable court rulings.

Third-party groups looking to tilt the scales of justices also played a large role. According to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, four of the five biggest spenders on television advertising this year were groups other than campaigns.

Now, a case from West Virginia offers the United States Supreme Court a chance to help rescue the fairness of state courts from the sea of special-interest money. The case involves a bald attempt by the chief executive of Massey Energy to purchase a favorable decision by spending $3 million to help elect a state justice — who subsequently voted to throw out a major damage award against the company.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/opinion/13thu3.html?th&emc=th