Contact: Charles Hall
              202-588-9454; (cell) 703-615-7642   
              chall@justiceatstake.org

Justice at Stake Praises Public Financing Vote in Wisconsin
Bill Would “Get Judges Out of Fund-Raising Business,” Watchdog Group Says

Justice at Stake, a national judicial watchdog group, hailed a vote Tuesday that advanced public financing for Wisconsin Supreme Court elections. “This is a major step forward in restoring public trust in the courts,” Executive Director Bert Brandenburg said. “Wisconsin judges would no longer have to dial for dollars from parties who appear before them in court.”

The legislature’s Joint Finance Committee voted 11-4 to approve the Impartial Justice Bill, moving it to a full legislative vote on Thursday. Brandenburg noted that campaign spending has exploded in state Supreme Court elections nationally, and in 2007-08, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates raised nearly $3.9 million, ranking the state third nationally in that period. In addition, millions more were spent by groups running independent campaigns.

A poll of Wisconsin voters in 2008 showed strong bipartisan support for public financing of appellate court races, with 65 percent favoring public financing and only 26 percent opposing it. Last year, all seven Wisconsin Supreme Court justices signed a letter urging adoption of public financing for judicial elections.

If the legislature passes the Impartial Justice Bill, Wisconsin would be the third state nationally, after North Carolina and New Mexico, to adopt public financing for higher court races in this decade.

Nationally, candidate fund-raising for state Supreme Court races has soared, from $85.4 million in the 1990s to $200.4 million from 2000-2008. A 2001 Justice at Stake poll showed that three out of four Americans believe that campaign cash can affect courtroom decisions, in favor of the special interests that have turned court elections into a financial arms race.