{"id":1557,"date":"2012-04-19T19:37:03","date_gmt":"2012-04-19T23:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/hlpr\/?p=1557"},"modified":"2015-10-02T15:23:41","modified_gmt":"2015-10-02T15:23:41","slug":"west-virginia-rolls-out-public-financing-for-judges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/lpr\/2012\/04\/19\/west-virginia-rolls-out-public-financing-for-judges\/","title":{"rendered":"West Virginia Rolls Out Public Financing for Judges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By\u00a0Billy Corriher<\/p>\n<p><\/em>After Massey Energy Co. spent enormous sums of money to influence elections for the West Virginia Supreme Court, the state created a pilot public financing program to free judicial candidates from outside influence. \u00a0Only one candidate (out of eight) in this year\u2019s election has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120509065616\/http:\/\/sundaygazettemail.com\/News\/201204110235\">accepted public funding<\/a>. \u00a0Republican Allen Loughry, a longtime clerk at the court, only needed to raise 500 small campaign contributions to receive $350,000 for the general election. \u00a0Loughry said the large campaign contributions can be \u201cextremely corrosive.\u201d \u00a0\u201dThere is so much money poured into these judiciary elections, there\u2019s a perception that money buys access.\u201d<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\nThe former chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court lost his reelection bid in 2008 after pictures\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120509065616\/http:\/\/old.post-gazette.com\/pg\/08015\/849318-28.stm\">emerged<\/a>\u00a0of him vacationing in Monte Carlo with the CEO of Massey Energy, while the court was considering Massey\u2019s appeal of an enormous verdict against it. \u00a0Massey also financed the campaign of another West Virginia justice, who cast the deciding vote throwing out that verdict. \u00a0The U.S. Supreme Court\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120509065616\/http:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar_case?case=12433246201492395798&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=2&amp;as_vis=1&amp;oi=scholarr\">ruled<\/a>\u00a0that this conflict of interest violated the opposing litigant\u2019s right to Due Process.<\/p>\n<p>Public financing would reduce the opportunity for Massey and other moneyed interests to influence judges. \u00a0In recent decades, judicial campaigns have become increasingly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120509065616\/http:\/\/brennan.3cdn.net\/23b60118bc49d599bd_35m6yyon3.pdf\">expensive<\/a>. \u00a0TV ads are being used for the first time. \u00a0Citizens are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120509065616\/http:\/\/www.justiceatstake.org\/resources\/polls-21605\/\">concerned<\/a>\u00a0that judicial independence could be compromised. \u00a0Since\u00a0<em>Citizens United<\/em>\u00a0removed restrictions on corporate spending, the public can expect these problems to grow worse. \u00a0So-called \u201cindependent\u201d entities can now accept unlimited, even anonymous, contributions.<\/p>\n<p>The Wisconsin Supreme Court has seen the most recent high-profile political battles. \u00a0Progressive and pro-business judicial candidates are running expensive races, with more \u201cindependent\u201d groups entering the fray. \u00a0Judicial politics in Wisconsin has become\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120509065616\/http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/news\/nation\/2008-04-02-2782861161_x.htm\">particularly<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120509065616\/http:\/\/badgerherald.com\/oped\/2012\/04\/17\/shit_show_degrades_w.php\">nasty<\/a>, and this has led to\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">all<\/span>\u00a0of the justices pushing for public financing. North Carolina has seen success with its campaign finance\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120509065616\/http:\/\/www.ncjudges.org\/jcra\/pcf.html\">system<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A public financing system, however, could present problems of its own. \u00a0Would it give state legislatures too much control over judicial elections? \u00a0How can the states ensure that publicly financed candidates can compete? \u00a0In the West Virginia race, the privately financed\u00a0candidates have\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120509065616\/http:\/\/sundaygazettemail.com\/News\/201204110235\">raised<\/a>\u00a0hundreds of thousands already, and one has loaned her campaign $1 million. \u00a0The West Virginia law includes a \u201cmatching\u201d provision that kicks in if opponents of publicly financed candidates raise a certain amount, but the U.S. Supreme Court recently\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120509065616\/http:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/10pdf\/10-238.pdf\">ruled<\/a>\u00a0a similar system unconstitutional. \u00a0Without these \u201cmatching\u201d provisions, how can states keep up with the exponentially rising costs of judicial elections?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By\u00a0Billy Corriher After Massey Energy Co. spent enormous sums of money to influence elections for the West Virginia Supreme Court, 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