JP Election Brief: Money and controversies

September 27, 2012

by: the State Court Staff

Every Thursday, Judgepedia's State Court Staff examines events in the world of judicial elections across the nation. Make sure to use Judgepedia's Election Central the rest of the week as a hub for all your judicial election needs.

Important date

Filing deadlines

• Oct. 7: Filing deadline for the Alaska general election
• Oct. 8: Filing deadline for the Arizona general election

Want to know more about Judgepedia's 2012 election coverage?
Check out Judgepedia's Election Central for details!

Michigan candidate aided by TV stars, challenged by Republicans

Michigan: Michigan Supreme Court candidate Bridget Mary McCormack is making headlines during her campaign. An Associate Dean at the University of Michigan law school, McCormack released a heavily viewed campaign video earlier this month. The video, which features the reunited cast of the television show The West Wing, was compiled thanks to the help of McCormack's sister Mary, an actress who was in the show's last three seasons.

Now, the Michigan Republican Party has filed an ethics complaint against the candidate for planning to speak at a Democratic fundraiser. In the complaint filed with the Attorney Grievance Commission, the party accused McCormack "of either purposely violating the ethics rules or being ignorant of them." The ethics rules for campaigning say that judicial candidates are not allowed to be a featured guest at a partisan fundraiser.

In filing the complaint, the Republican Party alluded to more complaints down the line, perhaps associated with the campaign video.

McCormack is competing against six candidates in the race for two seats on the Michigan Supreme Court in the general election.

In the News

Judicial campaigns target TV, spending $4.6 million and counting

Candidate spending is on the rise in Alabama, Illinois, Texas, West Virginia, Arkansas, Montana and Oregon. According to data compiled by Justice at Stake and the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, candidates from the seven states spent a combined total of $4,673,370 on primary television ads. That figure is more than quadruple the estimated amount spent on television ads during the 2010 primaries. This year's primary spending also surpassed 2004's record of $3.8 million, which included nine states.

The two organizations who compiled the data are trying to show the effects of special interest groups on judicial elections.

“

Money and special interests continue to transform judicial elections around the country. - Alicia Bannon

”

The candidates

The following is a selection of the highest-spending candidates.

Alabama Candidates Tommy Bryan, Charles Graddick, Charles Malone and Roy Moore spent a combined total of $1,391,530. Illinois Candidate Mary Jane Theis spent $1,198,590. Candidate Joy Cunningham spent $135,580. Texas Don Willett spent $1,167,930.

West Virginia Candidates Letitia "Tish" Chafin, Robin Jean Davis, Louis Palmer and Jim Rowe spent a combined total of $586,050. (See article below.) Arkansas Candidates Raymond Abramson and Jo Hart spent a combined total $168,410. Montana Candidate Elizabeth Best spent $22,110. Oregon Candidate Nena Cook spent $3,170.

The Brennan Center for Justice is a "'nonpartisan public policy and law institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice'". Justice at Stake is a nonpartisan nonprofit "working to keep America's courts fair and impartial."

West Virginia campaign spending highlight

West Virginia: The financing of judicial campaigns mentioned above made headlines in West Virginia this week.

According to the report by Justice at Stake and the Brennan Center for Justice mentioned above, the four Democratic candidates who campaigned for two positions on the West Virginia Supreme Court spent a combined total of almost $600,000 ($586,050, to be exact) on television advertisements during this year's primary season.

Candidate Letitia Chafin led the way, spending $325,100 on television ads. She was followed by incumbent Justice Robin Jean Davis, who spent $181,350. Louis Palmer and James J. Rowe spent $28,790 and $50,800, respectively. Chafin and Davis were successful in the primary, a fact which suggests that their strategy of engaging in relatively high campaign spending has paid off. They will face Republicans Allen Loughry and John Yoder in the general election on November 6.

On Tuesday, the West Virginia State Elections Commission unanimously voted not to appeal the state Supreme Court's earlier ruling that releasing matching funds to Supreme Court candidate Allen Loughry would violate the rights of other candidates who are financing their own campaigns. Loughry, a Republican candidate for the state's highest court, had filed a writ seeking to force the State Elections Commission to provide his campaign with matching funds, but the state Supreme Court ruled that doing so would be unconstitutional.

Indiana incumbent hits the newspapers

Bloomington, Indiana: Incumbent circuit court judge Frances "Francie" Hill was profiled in local media this week, an integral piece of her re-election campaign. She answered several questions in the Bloomington Herald Times, allowing her to reintroduce herself to voters before the general election. She will face challenger Alphonso "Al" Manns on November 6th.

In the election chat, a moderator guided the conversation while constituents asked a variety of questions, including: "Tell us about the CASA program and your part in it's establishment in Monroe County," and, "Sometimes it seems like people don't think Judges work very hard. Can you tell us how many cases you handle and what a typical day is like? Is your job really a full-time job?"

Hill's responses to the questions put to her were generally a few sentences in length and focused heavily on her qualifications and accomplishments as a judge and community member. Neither Hill nor her constituents ever mentioned her opponent by name. It remains to be seen if candidate Manns will be profiled in the Times; if not, it places him at a severe disadvantage, as the Times is the largest local newspaper in the voting area. Only the Indiana Daily Student, the newspaper of Indiana University-Bloomington, Indiana's largest state university with approximately 46,000 students, is comparable in size.

Controversy in Illinois circuit court race

Belleville, Illinois: A race for Illinois circuit judge is getting ugly. Associate Judge Laninya Cason of the 20th Judicial Circuit Court, who is vying for the open Circuit Judge position in that circuit, has filed a complaint against her opponent, Associate Judge Zina Renea Cruse.

Cason's 18-page argument was sent in to the state Judicial Inquiry Board earlier this month. It accuses Cruse of "unethical conduct which puts the judiciary in disrepute." Specifically, it notes that Charles Courtney, Cruse's campaign chairman, is also appearing before the judge as a lawyer in a divorce case. Cason argues that this is unethical.

Cruse's campaign retaliated by pointing out Cason's negative evaluation by the Illinois State Bar Association, saying,

“

We have no doubt that the board will agree that Judge Zina Cruse's political opponent's complaint is without merit and should be dismissed…What more can we expect to see from a seated judge who has received one the worst judicial evaluations in the history of the state?

”

The complaint process through the Judicial Inquiry Board usually takes six months. Another resolution was explained by Attorney Warren Lupel, of the Judicial Ethics Committee. He said the judge may announce, in open court, the conflict regarding her campaign manager appearing before her, then leave the room for the attorneys to discuss amongst themselves. Based on the attorney's decision, the case may proceed or be reassigned. Chief Judge C. John Baricevic, of the 20th Circuit, said that, as far as he knows, such a procedure had already taken place.

See also

• Judgepedia's Election Central