Before the Supreme Court is a case asking whether judges running for election (or candidates running for election as judges) should be able to personally solicit campaign contributions. The case is Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar and involves a fundraising letter signed by a candidate for a state court judgeship in Hillsborough County, Florida.
The Court appeared to be having trouble with the reality that campaigns are an actual, real feature of judicial races in those 39 states including Kentucky that have some form of judicial election, appearing to believe that judicial power is special, which means that they think they are special and above reproach.
There are good reports by Adam Liptak for the New York Times, A Judicial Fund-Raising Case Causes Justices to Reflect On Their Own Jobs, and by Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog, Justices Debate Limits on Solicitations By Judges.
Robert L. Abell
www.RobertAbellLaw.com
Comments