With Occupy Wall Street in full swing – it’s time to begin a new occupation…of our nation’s court system. Today we learned that corporations are spending millions and millions of dollars meddling in judicial elections around the nation.
In fact – a new report by the Brennan Center for Justice, the NYU School of Law, and other independent judicial watchdogs – finds that just three corporate lobbyist groups – the Ohio Chamber of Commerce – the Business Council of Alabama – and the Illinois Civil Justice League – have outspent the ENTIRE labor movement in judicial elections around the nation.
Those groups alone spent over $3 million last year making sure that corporate-friendly justices find their way onto benches everywhere. There’s long been a debate over what kind of judge is best – one elected by the people as most state judges are – or one appointed by the President as most federal judges are. But the truth is – now that corporations are allowed to spend unlimited amounts in our elections – both types of judges have been corrupted – transformed from professional jurists into corporate shills.
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