There Is A Limit

In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled yesterday that large contributions to a judge’s political campaign can disqualify the judge from hearing a case involving that donor.

This is welcome news. Judicial campaigns have been getting more and more expensive, as well as meaner, over the past decade. The pressure on a lawyer seeking a judicial seat to raise money is getting out of hand:

Thirty-nine states, including New York, elect at least some of their judges, and election campaigns, particularly for state supreme courts, have in recent years grown increasingly expensive and nasty. In the last decade, spending on elections for state high courts has reached $200 million, according to Justice at Stake, a group that tracks campaign spending. Elected judges routinely accept contributions from lawyers and litigants who appear before them, and they seldom disqualify themselves for cases involving donors.

It is time for a change. The Missouri Plan for non-political appointments of judges works. Perhaps this will be the impetus to move in that direction.