The U.S. Supreme Court declared last week in Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar that “judges are not politicians” even in states that elect rather than appoint their judges, and that narrowly tailored restrictions on judicial campaign activity further the state’s “compelling interest” in protecting the integrity of the judiciary.1 In doing so, the court did what the New York State Court of Appeals had done 12 years ago, in much the same language.
The issue in Williams-Yulee involved Florida’s ban on the personal solicitation of campaign funds by candidates for elected judicial office. New York is among 30 states with a similar ban.2 The challengers argued that it is an unconstitutional limitation on a judicial candidate’s speech to prevent him or her from directly asking a potential donor for money. Supporters of the ban countered that the integrity of the judiciary is fatally compromised if judges ask for money from lawyers and litigants who are likely to appear before them.
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