The Neil Gorsuch nomination produced a few memorable quotes, which resonate here in Connecticut after Justice Richard Palmer’s recent reappointment travails. When testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gorsuch pointed out that judges are supposed to be more than politicians wearing robes. Amen to that.
Unfortunately, in most of the country, where trial and appellate judges and justices are elected, too many times they are just that: politicians wearing robes. History is replete with instances where litigants tried to game the system by becoming big donors to judges who end up hearing their cases. For instance, see Caperton v. Massey, which ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court, where a litigant donated something like $3 million to the campaign of a West Virginia justice who later sat on the appeal of a $50 million judgment against him. The donation was only 3,000 percent more than allowed by campaign laws, which the donor apparently evaded by using a cutout.
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