Judicial candidates in several states are challenging state ethics rules that forbid their participation in voter guides. They simply want the right to tell voters what organizations stand behind them or which Supreme Court justices they admire.
The James Madison Center for Free Speech of Indiana has organized the Judicial Accountability Project to assist the candidates.
James Bopp, general counsel for the center, said the states are muzzling the judiciary and limiting the information people can bring to the voting booth.
“It's unconstitutional under the First Amendment to have any such prohibition," he said. "The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment protects the right of judicial candidates to announce their views on disputed, legal and political issues.”
Texas, which allows its judges to be included in voter guides, has an informed electorate, said Kelly Shackelford, president of the Free Market Foundation.
“Voter guides are essential, if people are going to have some way to intelligently vote and get the kind of judges they want," he said.
The Judicial Accountability Project is active in eight states, including Indiana, Florida and Pennsylvania. Two judicial candidates in Indiana recently filed suit in a federal court.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit the James Madison Center for Free Speech Web site and click on the "Judicial Accountability Project" link.
