Release: Immediate
Justice at Stake Hails Public Financing Breakthrough in Wisconsin
Judicial Watchdog Group Urges Continued Efforts to Offset Special Interest Spending
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2009—Justice at Stake hailed tonight’s passage of the Impartial Justice Bill, which provides public financing of statewide judicial elections. “This is a big victory for citizens who fear that money is tipping the scales of justice,” said Bert Brandenburg, executive director of the nonpartisan judicial watchdog group. “The legislature has made Wisconsin a national leader in keeping our courts fair and impartial. We look forward to Governor Jim Doyle honoring his commitment to sign this landmark reform legislation.”
In a 2008 poll, 78 percent of Wisconsin residents said that campaign cash influences courtroom decisions. The survey also showed broad support for public financing of appellate court races, with 65 percent in favor and only 26 opposed.
Brandenburg said that under the bill, “judges would no longer have to dial for dollars from parties who appear before them in court.” But he also said other measures are needed to help a public financing system most effectively curb special interest pressure on courts. For example, he said, so-called independent groups that air TV election ads should be required to disclose who paid for the ads.
“Undocumented millions have been spent from all sides of the political spectrum to to elect judges favorable to special interest agendas,” Brandenburg said. “Voters ought to know who is ‘paying to play’ at election time.”
Wisconsin becomes the third state in seven years to publicly finance state appellate elections, joining North Carolina and New Mexico. The measures are a response to runaway special-interest spending on state Supreme Court elections, which soared nationally from $85.4 million in 1989-1998, to $200.4 million in 1999-2008.
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates raised nearly $5.1 million from 2000-08, ranking 13th nationally, but the state experienced an eruption in spending and nasty TV ads in 2007 and 2008, when candidates raised a total of nearly $3.9 million. In late 2007, all seven state Supreme Court justices signed a letter endorsing public financing of Supreme Court elections.
Brandenburg said North Carolina’s public financing law offers an encouraging alternative road map for Wisconsin. Since its launch in 2004, the Public Campaign Fund has succeeded on almost every front:
- Participation has been strong. In three elections, 31 of 40 appellate court candidates have sought and qualified for public funding, agreeing to limit personal contributions to $1,000. In the 2008 election, eligible Supreme Court candidates received $234,000.
- It has strong public support, according to a 2005 poll, which showed that 74 percent supported public financing for appellate court races.
- It is popular among candidates, and has helped women, minorities and candidates of widely differing philosophies win election to the appellate bench. As Court of Appeals Judge Wanda Bryant said, public financing “makes all the difference. I've run in two elections, one with campaign finance reform and one without. I'll take 'with' any time, any day, any where.”
Importantly, in the three election cycles where public financing has been available, no major spending by groups operating outside the system has taken place. A fact sheet on the North Carolina program is available at: http://www.ncjudges.org/media/fact_sheet_pcf.html.
In 2007, New Mexico established public financing for state judicial elections. However, under the state’s hybrid system, judges face only one competitive election after being appointed to the Supreme Court, and the fund has not been used yet. Facts on the New Mexico program can be found at: http://www.sos.state.nm.us/temp.htm. Nationally, 21 states fill Supreme Court vacancies with competitive elections. Twenty-nine states fill high court vacancies through appointments, with 24 using bipartisan commissions that submit nominees to the governor. # # # Justice at Stake is a nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign working to keep America’s courts fair and impartial. Justice at Stake Campaign partners educate the public work for reforms to keep politics and special interests out of he courtroom—so judges can do their job of protecting our Constitution, our rights and the Rule of law. For more about Justice at Stake, go to www.justiceatstake.org, or www.gavelgrab.org.
