The New Politics of Judicial Elections
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Date & Time
Thursday, September 30th 12-2p.m.

Location
National Press Club
529 14th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. [map]

Keynote speaker Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
Join Justice at Stake and the Committee for Economic Development (CED) for a discussion on the newly released Justice at Stake report “The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2000-2009: Decade of Change.” The report finds that special-interest money exploded in state court races in 2000-2009.

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Poll Shows Pennsylvanians Favor Judicial Merit Selection
Wednesday, 09 June 2010
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Governor Ed Rendell
In partnership with PMC and PMCAction, Justice at Stake, the American Judicature Society and a diverse coalition of civic, business, religious and legal groups, CED is  advocating for a constitutional amendment to change the way Pennsylvania selects its appellate court judges.

On June 9th, 2010 CED joined its coalition partners for a press conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to discuss the findings of a recent poll. Governor Ed Rendell gave opening remarks and took questions showing his support for this bipartisan legislation. Former Governors Schweiker and Ridge participated by conference call.
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Poll: West Virginia Voters Support Public Financing for Court Elections
Monday, 08 March 2010
CHARLESTON, W.VA., March 8, 2010-West Virginia voters support public financing of elections for state Supreme Court justices, expressing deep concern that campaign funders currently can buy unfair influence in the courtroom.
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U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Caperton v. Massey
Monday, 08 June 2009
Ruling is Key to Judicial Independence

Washington, DC - June 9. 2009 - Leaders of the non-partisan Committee for Economic Development (CED) applauded the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the West Virginia case, Caperton v. Massey. The case has highlighted the concern that increased spending in partisan/politically charged judicial races imposes a threat to a fair and impartial judiciary. Since the 2002 release of Justice for Hire, CED has worked to engage business in improving judicial selection procedures in the states. CED supports a commission-based appointment system or a merit-based system as opposed to partisan election of judges.

 

"The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of the petitioners in this case - businessman Hugh Caperton and the Harman Development Corporation - is a victory for those working to improve and to ensure judicial independence. The business leaders who make up CED believe that judges who must run for office and raise money to finance their campaigns cannot then be seen as fully impartial when deciding cases that involve supporters and opponents. This decision sends a message that the highest court in the land shares our concerns," said CED Trustee Landon Rowland, Director, Chairman Emeritus, Janus Capital Group.

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Why a Fair and Impartial Judiciary Matters to Business Leaders
Tuesday, 07 April 2009

By Landon Rowland, Chairman Emeritus, Janus Capital Group

The line "common sense often makes good law," is attributed to Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. Details surrounding the West Virginia case Caperton v. Massey, argued March 3 before the U.S. Supreme Court, display a serious lack of common sense in judicial independence and selection procedures. The CEO of A.T. Massey Coal Co. spent $3 million to elect lawyer Brent Benjamin to the state Supreme Court, while Massey Coal was appealing a $50 million jury award against it. Even after repeated requests from the petitioners, Justice Benjamin refused to recuse himself, instead casting the deciding vote to overturn the $50 million judgment. When large amounts of campaign spending are involved, integrity of the judicial process is readily questioned.

Caperton v. Massey has highlighted the business community's concern for judicial recusal. A 2007 poll of U.S. business leaders conducted by Zogby International reported that 97 percent of those surveyed said that judges should recuse themselves in cases involving those who have contributed financially to their campaign. In addition, the Committee for Economic Development, together with Fortune 500 giants Intel, Lockheed Martin, PepsiCo, and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., submitted a Supreme Court amicus brief in support of the Petitioners, Hugh Caperton and the Harman Development Corporation.

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CED Hosts Forum on Legal and Regulatory Reform
Friday, 27 February 2009
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Congressman Jim Cooper and author Philip K. Howard
CED hosted a discussion on legal reform that featured CED Trustee and author Philip K. Howard and Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN) on ways to inject more common sense into the American legal system. Mr. Howard is the author of Life Without Lawyers a book that argues that we are being choked to death by too many laws, too many lawyers. Congressman Cooper has practiced law and holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
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Forum on Judicial Selection Reform in Tucson
Thursday, 19 February 2009
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Associate Justice (retired) Sandra Day O'Connor
CED, the Rehnquist Center at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, and Justice for All hosted a forum on judicial independence featuring United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (retired) [play part 1] [play part 2] . Panelists included Peter Dunn [play video] , Director of Justice for All and Chairman of the Board of Western Pacific Storage Solutions; The Honorable Ruth V. McGregor [play video] , Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court; Michael Petro [play video] , Vice President of CED; and Sally Rider [play video] , Director of the Rehnquist Center.
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Courts under Attack: Defending an Independent Judiciary
Tuesday, 12 December 2006
Justice O'Connor
Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
CED and Justice for All cosponsored a luncheon forum, "Courts under Attack: Defending an Independent Judiciary," on Tuesday, December 12th. Retired Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor delivered keynote remarks, emphasizing the urgency of acting to protect the American independent judiciary. Justice O'Connor called on the many business and civic leaders in attendance to act to protect the Arizona merit-selection system, in particular from the recent calls to introduce competitive judicial elections.
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CED and Justice at Stake Host Judicial Selection Luncheon Forum in Kansas City
Monday, 13 November 2006
Landon Rowland
CED Trustee Landon Rowland delivering keynote remarks.
On November 13th CED and Justice at Stake hosted a luncheon forum on "Why a Fair and Impartial Judiciary Matters to the Business Community" in Kansas City. CED Trustee and Director & Chairman Emeritus, Janus Capital Group, Landon Rowland and Chief Justice Michael A. Wolff of the Supreme Court of Missouri delivered keynote remarks on the importance of protecting the Missouri Plan from political attacks as seen in neighboring states. Other speakers included Patrick McLarney, President of the Kansas City Metro Bar Association; Bert Brandenburg, Executive Director of Justice at Stake; Mike Petro, Vice President of the Committee for Economic Development; Dana Tippin Cutler, Standing Committee on Judicial Independence at the American Bar Association; the Honorable Richard D. Greene of the Kansas Court of Appeals; and Jeffrey Roe, Founder and Chief Executive of Axiom Strategies.
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Philadelphia Luncheon Highlights Merit Selection
Thursday, 26 January 2006
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(l to r) CED Vice President Mike Petro, CED President Charles Kolb, PMC Associate Director Shira Goodman, PMC Executive Director Lynn Marks, and CED Trustee Don Caldwell at the Philadelphia luncheon.
On January 26, 2006, CED, along with Trustee Donald Caldwell, Chairman & CEO, Cross Atlantic Capital Partners, hosted 40 business, legal and policy leaders at a luncheon discussion at the Union League in Philadelphia, PA. The forum focused on judicial reform including an effort to create a merit selection system for selecting judges in Philadelphia.

Speakers included CED President Charles Kolb, Lynn Marks, Executive Director, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts (PMC) and the Honorable Phyllis Beck, former Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge, and PMC Board Member. To review speaker biographies, click here.

 

For more information on Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, please visit: www.pmconline.org.

 
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CED, the Committee for Economic Development is an independent, nonpartisan organization for business and education leaders dedicated to policy research on the major economic and social issues of our time and the implementation of its recommendations by the public and private sectors.