Nothing says, "We need to publicly fund judicial elections" like the state Supreme Court endorsing it. And that's exactly what just happened in Wisconsin.
On the eve of a special session on campaign finance called by Gov. Jim Doyle, the seven justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court sent a letter to the governor and the state Legislature supporting "the concept of realistic, meaningful public financing" for Supreme Court elections.
"A cornerstone of our state is that the judiciary is fair, neutral, impartial and non-partisan," wrote Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and the six other justices. "The risk inherent in any non-publicly funded judicial election for this Court is that the public may inaccurately perceive a justice as beholden to individuals or groups that contribute to his or her campaign. Judges must not only be fair, neutral, impartial and non-partisan but also should be so perceived by the public."
The justices can't endorse a particular bill, but they clearly explained why the concept of public funding--fairness, appearance of impartiality, unfettered by special interests--makes so much sense.
As wealthy special interests make larger and larger "investments" by giving huge sums to judicial candidates, the movement to reform how judicial races--and legislative races--are funded continues to gain steam around the country.
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