PMC and PMCAction today issued a press release predicting that the United States Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission would open the floodgates to spending in judicial elections.  The decision, focusing primarily on the right to free speech, grants corporations and unions a constitutional right to make independent expenditures in elections directly from their corporate coffers, without the need to establish separate political action committees to fundraise and spend money. The decision invalidates the laws of Pennsylvania and 21 other states prohibiting such independent campaign expenditures. Shira Goodman, Deputy Director of PMC and PMCAction, explained, “It’s like the Supreme Court said ‘let the money roll in.’”
 
PMC and PMCAction discuss the increasing public concern about the role of money in judicial elections and note that today's decision will intensify those concerns by making it easier for corporations and unions that frequently litigate in the state courts to participate in electing the judges who will decide their cases.
 
Our suggested solution: Merit Selection of appellate court judges.