Former state chief justice is ashamed of the fundraising process
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The former chief justice of Alabama’s Supreme Court, Sue Bell Cobb, set a goal during the 2006 election to the state’s high court. Raise $2.6 million and win.
Cobb won her seat after accepting hundreds of contributions from lawyers and lobbyists for a total of close to $2 million. In an article for Politico Magazine, Cobb says she is ashamed of the fundraising process, though she never let a campaign donation affect a court decision.
“How do we convince Americans that justice isn’t for sale—when in 39 states, it is?” she asks.
In Alabama, would-be judges are allowed to ask for money directly—not only from friends and family, but also from companies that may have interests before the court and lawyers who are likely to appear before them.
“When a judge asks a lawyer who appears in his or her court for a campaign check, it’s about as close as you can get to legalized extortion,” she writes. “Lawyers who appear in your court, whose cases are in your hands, are the ones most interested in giving. It’s human nature: Who would want to risk offending the judge presiding over your case by refusing to donate to her campaign? They almost never say no—even when they can’t afford it.”
Cobb explains how she solicited contributions. Her phone calls to potential donors began with chitchat about families and law practice. Then she steered the conversation to her campaign and made this statement: “I’d very much appreciate your support for my campaign.” She was careful to avoid the word “ask.”
At that point Cobb would hand the phone to her finance director, who would ask for a specific dollar figure. Cobb could have pressed for specific amounts herself, but imposed her own personal ban on doing so.
Cobb backs reforms to change the system. “Let’s start with nonpartisan elections,” she writes, “the public financing of judicial campaigns—which was successful in North Carolina until the legislature killed it in 2013—and merit-based selection of judges, a system that can include nonpartisan screening commissions, gubernatorial appointment and retention elections.”
Cobb has signed an amicus brief (PDF) in a pending Supreme Court case, Williams-Yulee v. the Florida Bar, which considers the constitutionality of a Florida judicial conduct rule that bars judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign contributions. Joining with another former Alabama chief justice and two former chief justices of Texas, Cobb asks the Supreme Court to uphold the ethics rule.
The brief adds that Texas and Alabama are outliers because the great majority of states with elected judiciaries banned direct solicitation of campaign contributions years ago.
The ABA has also filed an amicus brief in the case asking the Supreme Court to uphold the ban on personal solicitation of funds by judicial candidates.
Hat tip to How Appealing.
