Campaign Cash
WV CALA regularly conducts extensive research of publicly available campaign finance reports in an effort to highlight campaign contributions to judges. Our state is one of only a handful of states that elects all of its judges on a partisan basis. And our current system of electing judges has come under great national scrutiny, with one such case warranting review by the United States Supreme Court.
The personal injury lawsuit industry has a significant financial interest in West Virginia’s broken legal system. Personal injury lawyers routinely give thousands in campaign contributions to the judges that frequently hear their cases, creating the appearance of bias.
The following is a breakdown of all large campaign contributions (those greater than $250 which require donors to disclose their occupation and employer) to state Supreme Court candidates in 2010, based on WV CALA’s research of publicly available campaign finance reports as of the Post-Primary reporting period.
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WV CALA is also monitoring campaign contributions for the 2010 Circuit Court race in Kanawha County – a race that could preview the 2012 state Supreme Court elections. Here is a breakdown of all large campaign contributions reported by the two Circuit Court candidates to date.
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You can also check out below our previous breakdown of all large campaign contributions to state Supreme Court candidates during the 2008 election cycle.
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