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 its judges on a partisan basis. And our current system of electing judges has come under great national scrutiny, with one such case currently pending before 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 2008, based on WV CALA’s research of publicly available campaign finance reports.
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