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The New York Times, the New York Law Journal, and the ABA Journal report that New York is taking on the issue of money and its influence in trial courts. New York’s Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman will announce a new state court rule on Tuesday in his 2011 State of the Judiciary address.

The new rule prevents court administrators from assigning a case to a judge if any of the lawyers or participants in the case donated $2,500 or more in the previous two years. The threshold amount for firms making donations is $3,500. The rule takes the recusal decision out of judges hands, and creates a system where major donors never appear before the judges they’ve supported. Court officials plan to use a computer system to compare the names of individuals involved in cases with names listed in public records of contributors.

In New York, judges on the highest courts are appointed. However, the judges that are elected are open to the dangers posed by campaigning and fundraising. In addition, there have been allegations that ties between political consultants in judicial races and political organizations have resulted in the ability to buy a judgeship for the price of consultant fees. Such influence and allegations taint the public’s confidence in fair and impartial courts. Judge Lippman acknowledged this, saying: “Nothing could be more important for the judiciary than to have the public see that we’re neutral arbiters of disputes. If we don’t have that, we don’t have anything.”

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