State Judicial Elections
Thirty-nine states elect at least some of their judges, and the vast majority of cases in the United States are heard by elective courts. To safeguard the rights of parties appearing before these courts, the Brennan Center works to reduce the influence of money on judicial elections. We support public financing of campaigns for the bench, reasonable limits on contributions to candidates and others engaged in electioneering, and full disclosure of campaign fundraising and spending. To protect judicial independence, we challenged a New York law that effectively undermined constitutionally required trial court elections by giving political party leaders control over selection of judges.
Justice Brent Benjamin of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia refused to recuse himself from the appeal of a $50 million jury verdict in this case, even though the CEO of the lead defendant spent $3 million supporting his campaign. Did Benjamin’s failure to recuse violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?
North Carolina Right to Life Committee Fund for Independent Political Expenditures v. Leake
The Brennan Center is intervening to help defend the nation’s first voluntary full public financing program for judicial elections.
Lopez Torres v. NYS Board of Elections
U.S. Judge Overturns New York State Judicial Election Process in Brennan Center Lawsuit
Impartiality Still an Issue After WV Judge’s Riviera Scandal
It takes a lot for a sitting Supreme Court justice to lose an election, but Elliot Maynard managed....
Certain American values transcend partisan divisions. One is that money should not influence the courts. But with record sums pouring into judicial elections, the ideal of due process is giving way to a perception of pay-to-play justice…
Lopez Torres “Blazing a Trail”
The Supreme Court’s reversal of the lower court decisions in Lopez Torres v. New York State Board of Elections was a major victory for the defenders of New York’s judicial selection status quo. That said…
Illustrations by Risko
Coalition Urges Supreme Court to Review West Virginia Case
The Center for Justice, along with the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and the Reform Institute, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in a case with national ramifications regarding one of the most basic rights in any system of law: the right to a fair hearing before an impartial arbiter.
Harman Mining Company (W. Virginia recusal case)
Press release from counsel of Harman Mining Co. announcing that Ted Olson will represent them in the U.S. Supreme Court.
BC Proposal Offers Fresh Ideas and Reforms to End the Growing Threat to Judicial Impartiality
In an effort to restore trust in our justice system, the Brennan Center for Justice has published a new report that seeks to eliminate even the appearance of an imbalanced judiciary with consistent principles and rules for when a judge should step down from a case.
Testimony of Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Jr. Before the Senate Standing Committee on the Judiciary
Testimony concerns questions before the Legislature as a consequence of the holdings that New York State’s judicial convention system is unconstitutional.
Testimony of Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Jr. Before the Assembly Standing Committee on the Judiciary
The Brennan Center’s Frederick Schwarz, Jr. testifies that New York State’s judicial convention system is unconstitutional.
Selected Press and Commentary on Caperton v. Massey
Stories covering the West Virginia case.
Hugh M. Caperton et al. v. A.T. Massey Coal Company, Inc., et al. - Petition for Writ of Certiorari
In the West Virginia recusal case, a petition for certiorari was filed by Petitioners with the U.S. Supreme Court on July 2, 2008.
Incumbent Idaho Supreme Court Justice Joel Horton and his challenger, 2nd District Judge John Bradbury, ran for a contested seat on the Idaho Supreme Court.