Sandra Day O’Connor stresses the importance of a judiciary not shaped by donors with deep pockets.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:
Judicial independence is the crown jewel of democracy, but easier to damage or destroy than most can imagine, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said at a luncheon Friday at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
The topic of her speech: the destructive influence of money in judicial elections.
She decried an influx of special-interest money across the country, including in Wisconsin. The “appearance of outside influence on judges has to be avoided,” she said. “Judges should not be competing against each other based on the popularity of their decisions.” . . .