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One of the unique features of Washington's 2010 judicial elections will be the role of social media in helping candidates get out their message. Three state Supreme Court justices are up for reelection – Madsen, Sanders, and Jim Johnson – and already candidates are employing social media in ways never before used in Washington Supreme Court elections. Justice Jim Johnson announced his reelection bid on his Facebook page and attracted dozens of fans within a few hours. Justice Sanders also has a Facebook page which announces campaign events. Attorney Charlie Wiggins, who is challenging Sanders, is on both Facebook and Twitter.

Last November the Washington Ethics Advisory Committee issued an opinion that stated judicial blogging is permitted under the Code of Judicial Conduct, provided the judge can do so in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. Presumably the same guidance would apply to newer forms of social marketing as well.

This trend is not unique to Washington. Attorney and blogger Don Cruse (@doncruse) covers the state Supreme Court in Texas, where voters just completed a primary for open Supreme Court seats. Don created a feed of the Twitter accounts of each candidate -- a fascinating stream-of-consciousness resource for voters. 

LexBlog CEO Kevin O’Keefe is the Aristotle of legal bloggers – he spends his time wandering around the country training lawyers how to blog. (Read, for example, his blog post “Focus on the possibilities of blogging and social media, not the challenges.”) The legal profession is embracing the potential of social media, so it's logical that the judiciary would eventually follow.

Judicial candidates are no longer speaking through intermediaries like campaign literature or editorial boards. They’re appealing directly to the members of the public who will vote for them. What impact will social media have in these races? Is this a good development? 

What do you think?

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Chief Justice Barbara Madsen filed her candidate registration form yesterday, formalizing her plans to run for reelection. She has yet to draw any opponents.

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Justice Jim Johnson announced his plan to seek a second term on the Supreme Court. Check out his campaign Facebook page here. The page describes Justice Johnson as "the state Supreme Court’s most ardent supporter of liberty and judicial restraint." At this time there are no challengers for his position.

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Steve Miletich of the Seattle Times has an article about the campaign between Justice Richard Sanders and attorney Charlie Wiggins.

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Justice Tom Chambers – the only Washington justice with a blog – has offered his opinion on the debate over how we select judges.

He discusses the issue in a very thoughtful post that acknowledges the flaws in each system. Elections, appointments, selection committees ... they all have their shortcomings.

He discounts the concern that judges up for re-election would pander to popular opinion. “[I]n my 40 years in the law, the judges of Washington State have consistently done the courageous thing and are not swayed by fear of being unelected.” But Chambers cites problems in other states and says the election process can potentially threaten judicial independence.

Lifetime appointments, he says, are also problematic. “Some judges appointed for life have become tyrants and do not treat lawyers, parties, or jurors with respect. On the other hand, it was my experience that state court judges faced with periodic elections see every lawyer, party, and witness as a future potential vote and almost always treated all with respect.”

Appointment committees that screen potential judges? “In the past, such blue ribbon panels have been perceived as a good old boy network; clubbish and difficult for women and minorities to break into.”

Justice Chambers offers an interesting Solomon compromise: elect trial judges, who are closer to their communities, and appoint appellate judges, who are ultimately responsible for interpreting the law. He recommends using a diverse appointment committee and requiring appellate judges to stand for retention elections.

Chambers concludes by showing he is a pragmatist. “Although interesting, this discussion is likely academic as I think it highly unlikely that the people of Washington State are ever going to relinquish their constitutional right to elect judges.”

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A bill that would have created a pilot program for publicly-financed state Supreme Court races died in the Washington Senate yesterday. The proposal has been introduced annually since the state's hotly-contested judicial elections of 2006. Brad Shannon of The Olympian has the story here.

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As we reported last week, attorney Charlie Wiggins announced his candidacy for Position 6 of the Washington Supreme Court, currently held by Justice Richard Sanders.

Justice Sanders was expected to run for another term on the court, and he recently filed the necessary candidate registration form with the Public Disclosure Commission. Justice Sanders won a special election in 1995 and was re-elected for two six-year terms in 1998 and 2004. He describes his understanding of the job on his campaign website: 

These have been good years on the court. It is a great privilege and joy to attempt to protect and maintain the individual legal rights of every single individual who comes to court. That, in my opinion, is the job description of a judge, and, as it says in Article 1, Section 1 of our state constitution, the purpose of state government as well.

Stay tuned. We'll continue to bring news and information about the various candidates for the Supreme Court.

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We have our first challenger in a state Supreme Court race.

Bainbridge Island attorney Charlie Wiggins has officially thrown his hat into the ring, filing a candidate registration form with the Public Disclosure Commission. He is running against Justice Richard Sanders.

Wiggins’ campaign website can be found here, where Wiggins states he is running against Sanders because of violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct  and because "his decisions are not fair and impartial, and he opposes positive reforms to improve the process of electing judges." Should be a colorful campaign.

Chief Justice Barbara Madsen and Justice James Johnson are also up for re-election this year.

As election season approaches, this blog will provide information about candidates for the Supreme Court, including links to the evaluations and endorsements of other organizations.

UPDATE: The race is covered by the Olympian, Seattlepi.com, and the Kitsap Sun.

Note: The Supreme Court of Washington Blog neither endorses nor supports any candidate for judicial office.

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Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor recently criticized Washington’s process of electing judges. The speech set off a rash of editorials and opinion pieces. Here are several:

• Washington state should change the way it selects judges, Kate Riley, Seattle Times
• Judicial elections continue to serve Washington state citizens well, Deborah D. Fleck and Gerry Alexander, Seattle Times
• Time to change how Washington state selects its judges, William W. Baker and John McKay, Seattle Times
• Editorial, Politics shouldn’t skew judicial selection, The News Tribune
• Editorial, In Our View, Elections Preferred, The Columbian
• Editorial, Let's not rush to change judicial elections, Yakima Herald-Republic

UPDATE: WSBA Bar News Editor Michael Heatherly reminded me that Bar News covered the topic of judicial elections last year in a series of articles.

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Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor recently spoke at Seattle University Law School, and she had some advice for Washingtonians. As the AP reports: "The first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court says there's a serious problem with the government in Washington and many other states: They elect their judges." Justice O'Connor says judicial independence is threatened with the amount of money that is poured into judicial races. She questioned whether cases such as Brown v. Board of Education would have had the same ruling if those justices had to face an upcoming election.

Interestingly, Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, who won a hotly-contested reelection in 2006, disagreed. He said that while the process is not perfect, it has worked well in the past. Alexander said it is beneficial ("humbling") for judges to go through an election.

UPDATE: And speaking of judicial elections...the topic will be discussed today on The Conversation (KUOW 94.9 FM) at noon.

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This morning a group of voters and the Green Party of San Juan filed a writ of mandamus with the supreme court against Secretary of State Sam Reed and San Juan County.

The plaintiff's attorneys (Smith & Lowney) sent out a press release describing the cause of action:

The suit alleges that actions of Secretary of State Sam Reed required approximately one million voters to vote on ballots that contained unique bar code identifiers, in violation of the State Constitution’s guarantee of “absolute secrecy” of the ballot and statutes requiring uniform ballots within a precinct.

The suit also claims that Reed has encouraged and subsidized an uncertified ballot tracking “audit” system that links the ballot identifiers to voters’ identities, further undermining ballot secrecy by potentially permitting vendors and officials to inspect how a citizen voted.

The case name is White v. Reed. The petition is available on the firm website.

(hat tip: Rick Hasen)

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The issue of money in judicial elections is a hot one right now. It’s the subject of Supreme Court cases, John Grisham novels, and legislative proposals. But what about the issue of judicial money in elections? Turns out Washington State Supreme Court justices contribute modest sums during campaign season. Who do they give money to? Who gives the most? Who gets the most from colleagues? (Details after the jump.)

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