Sep 30 2011
Twisting judicial arms to support party politics
Philadelphia’s Democratic Party invited 27 city judges to a breakfast this week, at which each judge was asked to contribute $10,000 to assure party support in retention elections, according to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The article reports that, according to witnesses, the request was accompanied by a warning indicating that party support might be cut if a judge failed to make the requested contribution.
This is a prime example of how money and politics pollute the process of electing judges, so that only those candidates who have sufficient capital can count on the support of the parties – without the endorsement of which most campaigns would founder.
“I think it’s outrageous that the party is, as I understand it, asking for $10,000 per judge,” said Rudolph Garcia, chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association. “I don’t see why printing costs for sample ballots should be anywhere near that amount. This is one of the things wrong with our system, and why we shouldn’t be electing judges the way we do.”
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[...] the heels of the recent news that the Democratic Party requested $10,000 donations from each of 27 judges in order to guarantee [...]