http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/how-america-s-judges-are-being-bought-out-20131204
In recent years, some judicial elections have begun to look just like political campaigns, complete with attack ads, political action committees, and millions of dollars in fundraising for candidates. The financial involvement of special interest groups in state supreme court races across the country has blurred the boundaries between money and politics and justice, alarming average citizens and ethicists alike.
After all, such entanglement can portend corruption once judges reach the bench. But it's not the only recipe for conflict in the courtroom, according to a report released Wednesday by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan, investigative news organization.When judges have a conflict of interest in a given case, they should recuse themselves. But sometimes, that doesn't happen.
this is not new but i've never seen a study of the impact money and power can produce "power corrupts absolute power corrupts absolutely"
Using input from judicial ethics experts, CPI built a report card evaluating states' financial reporting requirements for state supreme court judges (methodology here). The grading system was based on a slightly tougher version of disclosure requirements for federal judges, which received a "B."The top scorers, California and Maryland, received Cs. Six others got Ds, and the rest, including the District of Columbia, failed. See a full breakdown here.Financial reporting requirements for justices, the CPI report explains, vary wildly from state to state. Kentucky does not require its judges to disclose the names of companies in which they have a financial interest. Ohio asks about gifts the judges receive, but not how much they're worth. In Montana, Utah and Idaho, judges don't have to file any disclosure reports at all.
this is the trickle down Reagan was misleading us with, money gets politicians elected, they in turn rig courts with those inclined to see things their way like private prisons, outrageous sentencing, bigger courts help them rig elections like recent voter rights act surgical removal of states in question of practicing voter suppression.
