"BANKROLLING THE BENCH" - HOW SPECIAL INTERESTS INFLUENCE THE COURTS


Episode Artwork
1.0x
0% played 00:00 00:00
Nov 14 2015 61 mins  
Think big business and big money are only influencing politics? Have you looked at judicial elections lately? A report issued by Justice at Stake found that special interest spending is skyrocketing in even obscure and small town judicial elections, and that is leading to some heavy influence at play for special interests. Not such good news for the "little people" who are looking to the courts to help settle issues in our lives. So how bad is the problem, and what can we do about it? Scott Greytak is the Policy Counsel and Research Analyst for Justice at Stake, where he designs and manages advocacy campaigns to protect courts from special interest influence and politicization by utilizing legislative, letigative, communications and organizing strategies. He is the lead author of "Bankrolling the Bench: The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2013 - 2014." He has been an Ohio public defender and sits on the boards of the American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation's Capital and the American Constitution Society D.C. Lawyer Chapter. Join us as we look at who is paying for judicial elections, what it means to fair and impartial courts, and who it impacts.