Commission on Public Financing of Judicial Campaigns

Introduction

Download the full Commission Report
Download the Executive Summary only
List of Commission Members

Description

Report of the Commission on Public Financing of Judicial Campaigns With generous funding from The Joyce Foundation and the Open Society Institute, the Standing Committee established an eleven-person commission to study and develop standards for public financing of judicial campaigns. The Commission was chaired by former Standing Committee chair D. Dudley Oldham.

The American Bar Association House of Delegates approved the recommendations of the Commission on Public Financing of Judicial Campaigns at the 2002 ABA Midyear Meeting in Philadelphia.

The Commission recommends that states which select judges in contested elections finance judicial elections with public funds, as a means to address the perceived impropriety associated with judicial candidates accepting private contributions from individuals and organizations interested in the outcomes of cases those candidates may later decide as judges.

The Commission's report is based on extensive study of state judicial elections and public financing systems for elections in other branches of government. The Commission held three public hearings, at which 25 expert witnesses provided testimony on the feasibility and desirability of public financing for judicial elections.

Judicial Public Financing in the States

Several states have made progress towards implementation of public financing systems for judicial elections:

North Carolina - In October 2002, Governor Mike Easley signed into law the Judicial Campaign Reform Act, creating the first voluntary system of full public financing for appellate judicial elections in the nation. The new North Carolina system, which also removes partisan labels in judicial elections, will undergo its first test in 2004.

Georgia - A study committee has been formed to examine the feasibility of public financing for judicial elections.

Illinois - In March 2003, the Illinois Senate passed the Supreme Court Campaign Reform Act (SB 1415), which would provide public funding for Supreme Court elections through a voluntary income tax check-off program. ABA President Alfred P. Carlton, Jr., testified in support of the bill to the Illinois Senate Executive Committee, which unanimously agreed to report it to the full Senate. As of April 22, 2003, the bill awaits action in the Illinois House of Representatives.

Wisconsin - An effort to expand the partial public financing system for Supreme Court elections, which was originally adopted in 1975, is gaining support in the legal community and the legislature. For an update, visit http://www.wi-citizenaction.org/.

"It is an affront to the American justice system that electioneering gives the impression justice is for sale. Public funding is one method by which we can restore public trust and confidence in a system that is truly independent and impartial. It can reverse the corrosion that taints all our courts when judicial candidates must turn for campaign resource to the very individuals and organizations that have an interest in the outcomes of cases those candidates may decide as judges."
- Alfred P. Carlton, Jr., ABA President, 2002-2003.