Electing Judges

In Massachusetts where I grew up all judges are appointed. I have never voted for a judge; however in 38 states judges are elected. And some judges do raise campaign funds. It used to be that not much money needed to be raised. But that was in the old days. In 2010 the money spent on judicial elections nationwide had increased to $38.7 million. In 2012 this number had increased by almost 50% to $56.4 million.

Is this a good thing? Don't we expect judges to be impartial? What would they do if a large contributor had a case before the judge?

There is even an organization that tracks this money. It's called Justice at Stake. In the eyes of its executive director, “We are seeing money records broken all over the country. Right now, we are watching big money being spent in Michigan. We are seeing the same thing in Montana and Ohio. There is even money going into a district court race in Missouri. This is the new normal.”