Judging Judges

The embarrassing merry-go-round of judges in the Tom DeLay case illustrates the growing problem of partisanship in the judiciary. First, one judge was removed from the case for having made donations to Democrats, then another for having ties to DeLay.

justice-tilted-1.jpg There seems to be a simple solution at hand--judges shouldn't make campaign donations. To appear impartial, after all, 99.8 percent of journalists are smart enough not to make donations to partisan causes. Judges should certainly be held to an even higher standard.

But it's become harder for judges to remain above the fray. Judges are elected in 38 states and, particularly in state Supreme Court races, have become big-time fundraisers, representing the fulcrum of legal and business battles over tort reform and other issues. As a result, West Virginia has hosted a $5 million Supreme Court contest, while Illinois had a $9 million race. (Here's a long report on judicial election spending in 2004.)

There have already been instances of judges recusing themselves from cases involving their campaign donors. Justice is not getting any cheaper.