Justices Tell Elected Judges Not to Rule on Major Backerstbn1.google.com
Justices Tell Elected Judges Not to Rule on Major Backers
Made popular 1447 days ago in Society & Religion
nytimes.com — In a closely watched case involving the confluence of justice, politics and money, the Supreme Court ruled for the first time that the Constitution can require an elected judge to step aside in a particular case based on campaign spending in state judicial races.

In a 5-to-4 decision released on Monday, the high court found that the circumstances surrounding Justice Brent D. Benjamin of the West Virginia Supreme Court and a lawsuit involving the Massey Energy Company, his major campaign contributor, were so "extreme" that there was no question that Justice Benjamin should have disqualified himself.

Because 39 states have legal systems in which judges are elected, the outcome of the West Virginia case has been eagerly awaited. But whether Monday's decision will bring clarity or chaos to the state courts, or something in between, was a point of bitter disagreement between the high court's majority and dissenters.

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Posted by rfuller
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Should elected judges recuse themselves in cases where one party in the case has contributed to the Judge's campaign?
Yes
94%
No
6.1%
This is not a scientific survey, click here to learn more. Results may not total 100% due to rounding and voting descrepencies.
User Comments
RogerDunn
Posted 1447 days ago
0 up votes, 0 down votes
Wow it took that long for our court system to pick up on this issue.
rakey1764
Posted 1447 days ago
0 up votes, 0 down votes
Absolutely!!! Politicians need to be forced to do the same thing. This whole thing is way out of control. At this point this country is going broke because of BO pandering to all the scumbags that donated to his camaign, and its wrong!!!!!!!!!!
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