Litigation

JAS Cited in Election 2010 Coverage

By Peter Hardin

The Justice at Stake Campaign continues to make news as it helps reporters across the country understand and put in  perspective the results of the most recent judicial elections.

JAS spokesman Charles Hall was quoted in an Associated Press article that was entitled, “Removal of Iowa justices may inspire other conservative groups to strike back against other courts.”

Three Iowa Supreme Court justices were ousted over their participation in a unanimous court ruling that permitted same-sex marriage in the state. But in several other states, organized efforts to oust supreme court justices in retention elections fell short.

“There’s a very small number of extremely emotional issues that can cause voters to weigh in and take judges off the court,” Hall told the AP. “For the most part, it’s still the rare exception.”

In Oklahoma, meanwhile, a Norman Transcript article about campaigns for local trial judges was headlined, “Lawyers’ checkbooks come out for races.”

The article noted that in a national poll conducted by Justice at Stake, 76 percent of voters said they believe contributions to judicial campaigns have some impact on a judge’s decisions from the bench.

Full post as published by The Gavel on November 08, 2010 (boomark / email).