The New Politics of Judicial Elections—All Reports

"We all expect judges to be accountable to the law rather than political supporters or special interests.  But elected judges in many states are compelled to solicit money for their election campaigns, sometimes from lawyers and parties appearing before them.  Whether or not these contributions actually tilt the scales of justice, three out of every four Americans believe that campaign contributions affect courtroom decisions. . . . For 10 years, the New Politics reports have played a leading role in documenting the growing threat to the credibility of our courts." -U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Since 2000, the Brennan Center's bi-annual reports on The New Politics of Judicial Elections have documented the alarming rise of money in judicial elections, the dramatic upsurge in special interest group involvement, and the tendency of judicial campaigns to become "noisier, nastier and costlier."  Below are links to the 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006 editions of the reports, as well as to the first-ever decade overview of spending on state court races, produced with the Justice at Stake Campaign and the National Institute for Money in State Politics.

The New Politics of Judicial Elections, 2000-2009: Decade of Change

The New Politics of Judicial Elections, 2006

The New Politics of Judicial Elections, 2004

The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2002, How the Threat to Fair and Impartial Courts Spread

The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2000, or How 2000 Was a Watershed Year for Big Money, Special Interest Pressure, and TV Advertising in State Supreme Court Campaigns