judgesonmerit.org

A recent ruling by the Texas Supreme Court is getting folks talking about the corrosive effect that judicial campaign contributions have on public confidence in the fairness and impartiality of judges. The court threw out an arbitration award against a Houston homebuilder named Bob Perry, who also happens to be the most prolific campaign contributor in the state. Every justice on the nine member panel has received a contribution from Perry or his family, for a total of over $260,000.

Critics in Texas are speaking out, calling this a case of “big money influencing elected judges.” Are they right? Who knows?

No one can say for sure if campaign money influenced the decision, and it doesn’t really matter. The problem is the perception this process creates. We can understand why a litigant, facing an opponent who has given thousands of dollars to a judge, would not be confident that his or her rights will be impartially protected.

Pennsylvania, like Texas, elects all judges in expensive partisan elections, where lawyers, law firms and organizations with cases in the state courts donate to judicial campaigns. We’ve got to get the money out of the process of selecting appellate court judges.

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