The buying of the N.C. Supreme Court
We’re talking about North Carolina’s Supreme Court – the seven individuals who have as much or more power than the governor and the 170 legislators. They are the ones who decide what happens with issues important to business and many public policies of consequence, from education to criminal justice to voting.
Four of the seven seats are on the ballot this year. And because of changes to election law, voters can expect millions of anonymous special interest dollars to shape the outcomes. Voters can counter those special interests, but only with this defense: knowing a bit about who’s running.
Republican legislators last year eliminated the public financing program, which had helped judicial candidates rely less heavily on raising money from special interests and even from lawyers who could be arguing cases before them.
The possibility of corruption is obvious. Consider West Virginia, where a coal company CEO spent $3 million to elect a justice who then sided with him in a 3-2 vote overturning a $50 million verdict against his company.North Carolina doesn’t need that kind of stain on its justice system. But the conditions are ripe for it.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/02/15/4694854/the-buying-of-the-nc-supreme-court.html#.UwHzjq6on4s#storylink=cpy
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