Nastier, Noisier, Costlier – and Better
Fair Courts E-lert

Date of E-Lert – 08/21/08

Bibliographic Info:
Author: James L. Gibson
Source: Miller-McCune
Date: 07/14/2008

James L. Gibson, a professor of Government at Washington University in St. Louis, argues that although judicial candidates are increasingly campaigning on “the basis of their policy views” or seeking “campaign contributions from citizens and groups,” recent research suggests that “voters are emphatically not put off by policy talk from judicial candidates.” Legal experts tend to “equate policy pronouncements with partiality and bias,” but “it is even conceivable that voters believe not just that there are no negative consequences of disclosing policy positions but that failure to disclose may be inappropriate for judicial candidates.” Gibson also argues that “states that have decided to elect their judges must protect the sanctity of democratic elections and not allow them to become sham elections like the ones so obvious in many parts of the world today.” 

Tags: State Judicial Elections