Litigation

AR Justice: Routes to Judicial Election Reform

By Peter Hardin

There are significant reforms that can improve judicial elections around the country while stopping short of eliminating them, a sitting justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court writes.

Justice Robert L. Brown listed some of the reforms in a recent letter to the New York Times, responding to an opinion column by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (see Gavel Grab’s “O’Connor: ‘Take Justice off the Ballot’”).

Here is an excerpt of Justice Brown’s letter defending judicial elections, and reported by a blog of the Arkansas Times:

“Public financing of judicial elections is one reform that has been carried out in a few states and is under consideration by others. Voter guides with candidate profiles sent to all registered voters are another. Oversight committees to respond to toxic, vitriolic and misleading television ads are a third.”

You can learn more about public financing by clicking here for an issues page of Justice at Stake, or by clicking here for information from JAS about negative campaigning and conduct committees.

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 03, 2010 (boomark / email).