Defending the First Amendment in Judicial Elections
July 21, 2010
Kentucky can no longer restrict the First Amendment rights of judicial candidates by forbidding them from disclosing their party affiliations or barring them from soliciting campaign funds, according to a recent ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote for the majority:
“While we do not question Kentucky’s right to select judges through popular elections, the Commonwealth cannot exempt itself from the demands of the First Amendment in the process.”
“There is room for debate about whether the election of state court judges is a good idea or a bad one. Yet this is no room for debate that, if a State opts to select its judges through popular elections, it must comply with the First Amendment in doing so.” Read more