Gavel Grab

The Justice at Stake Campaign applauded a vote in West Virginia’s legislature for public financing of state Supreme Court elections, saying it put the Mountain State in the forefront of such efforts nationwide.

“In 2004, West Virginia became a national symbol of the dangers of special-interest spending on court elections,” said Bert Brandenburg, JAS executive director, in a news release. “This weekend, the state moved to shed that unhappy legacy, becoming a national leader in preserving public trust in the courts.”

“With Saturday’s final vote in the House,” Brandenburg added, “and with Gov. [Joe] Manchin’s signature, West Virginia will become the fourth state nationally to publicly finance Supreme Court elections. Public financing will help restore public confidence in West Virginia’s Supreme Court, because judges no longer must raise money from parties that appear before them in court.”

In 2004, coal executive Don Blankenship spent $3 million to help Brent Benjamin win election as a state Supreme Court justice. After weighing that influence in the context of a business lawsuit, the nation’s highest court ruled in Caperton v. Massey that excessive campaign spending in a judicial election could require elected judges to step aside from some cases involving campaign supporters.

The West Virginia legislation was introduced after an independent commission made recommendations on judicial reform (see Gavel Grab.) It would fund a pilot program for state Supreme Court elections in 2012.

In addition, the legislature approved creation of an advisory panel that will recommend judicial nominees to West Virginia’s governor whenever mid-term vacancies occur. This bill, Brandenburg said, “will help governors choose qualified nominees who have received a nonpartisan vetting, instead of filling judgeships with little or no community input.”

The independent commission recommended last year that lawmakers establish advisory committees to screen and submit candidates to the governor for filling interim vacancies.

You can learn more about Caperton from Gavel Grab by clicking here, or visit Justice at Stake’s resource page about the case.