Poll: Huge Majority Wants Firewall Between Judges, Election Backers
On Brink of Supreme Court Case, Public Says Bias Likely When Campaign Cash Is Involved
By overwhelming margins, U.S. adults doubt that elected judges can be impartial in cases involving their biggest election campaign financial supporters, and the public says judges should step aside from such cases, according to a new national poll by Harris Interactive.
Moreover, 81 percent say judges should not decide whether they can fairly hear a case, saying that another judge should weigh the facts when a judge’s neutrality is challenged.
The poll comes as the Supreme Court prepares to consider when judges whose campaign supporters appear before them should step aside.
“Americans overwhelmingly believe that campaign cash has no place in the courtroom,” said Bert Brandenburg, executive director of the Justice at Stake Campaign, a nonpartisan watchdog that works to protect courts from special-interest and partisan agendas. “They are very skeptical that a judge can be impartial when one side has spent big dollars to help put them on the bench.” Read More
