Off-book campaign contributions subject of forums

By Nichole Allen
Western Herald

With elections looming, the League of Women Voters of Michigan (LWVM) is taking steps to make voters aware of the risks to fair and impartial justice for citizens at the Supreme Court level.

The LWVM is sponsoring several non-partisan forums entitled, “A Fair and Impartial Michigan Supreme Court.” The Kalamazoo forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters Kalamazoo Area, will take place at the
Little Theater on Western Michigan University’s campus, Oct. 1 from 7 to 9 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

Rich Robinson, Executive Director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said there has been a trend over the last four or five election cycles for Supreme Court elections to be expensive.

In the case of Mich., half the money is off the books with no accountability.

“It creates an ethical dilemma,” he said. “It’s a violation of impartiality.”

The concern lies in special interest groups contributing to campaigns in which that same Judge they are helping would later preside over a case involving the contributors.

Robinson emphasized with an example of a conflict of interest in which most people could relate.

“When Western plays Central we wouldn’t let Western hire the umpires for the game,” Robinson said. “We would expect the same standards for judicial courts as we would sporting events.”

Forum speakers will include, Robinson, columnist for the Detroit Free Press Brian Dickerson and Probate Judge and President of the Kalamazoo County Bar Association Hon. Curtis J. Bell.

The concern for impartiality and accountability for the elections of Supreme Court Judges has come up in various states including Ill., Wisc., and Ohio. It is so difficult in Mich. because so many campaigns are off the books.

From 2000-2006, candidates for Mich. Supreme Court spent $10.4 million. During that time, $10.5 million was spent on issue ads with no accountability.

Over that period, special interest groups spent more money than the candidates.

“That’s where the mystery is, when it’s off the books,” Robinson said. “There’s a conflict of interest when there is no public record as to who gave the money.”

He added that the U.S. is the only country where judges don’t have standards for disqualification.

“There are no recusal standards where the judges can eliminate themselves from the case even though a contributor is involved in that case,” said Jessica Reiser, president of the LWVM.

Robinson said it’s not just a matter of proving a conflict, but there’s an appearance that it undermines the trust, confidence and impartiality of the courts.

“We just wanted to inform people about this problem and to find out where this sits with the values of the community,” Robinson said.

He said it’s not about one person or one side; it’s about an ethical dilemma and the way we’re running the Supreme Court elections.

“Ultimately, if people don’t believe in equal justice for all, the rule of law breaks down,” he said.

The Kalamazoo forum is co-sponsored by the Kalamazoo Environmental Council, American Association of University Women of Michigan, Michigan Campaign Finance Network, Michigan Impartial Courts Coalition and the Kalamazoo County Bar Association.

For more information, visit the Web site at www.lwvmi.org.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Sep 30 2008. Filed under Campus, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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