News And Events
FUNDRAISING BANS FOR JUDICIAL CANDIDATES ARE OKAY
April 30, 2015
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that judicial candidates seeking election may not personally solicit funding for their campaigns. In an unusual alignment conservative Chief Justice Roberts joined with the four liberal justices in okaying Florida's judicial code of conduct ban on judicial candidates seeking donations. Thirty states, including Mississippi, have similar bans. Those states allow political committees to seek campaign funds for their candidate, but require the committee to avoid disclosure of the donors to the candidate.Chief Justice Roberts wrote, "Judges are not politicians, even when they come to the bench by way of the ballot."
Return to News