Michigan is No. 1 again -- for worst judicial elections

Michigan’s system of electing its state Supreme Court has once again attracted special attention as the worst in the nation.

In a Sunday New York Times editorial, the paper wrote that large amounts of special interest PAC money flowing into state judicial races raise serious concerns about the fairness and impartiality of the judges who are the beneficiaries.

Michigan, in particular, was singled out:

“In Michigan, where three of seven seats on the State Supreme Court were up for election, records were set for both spending and lack of accountability. The $3.2 million raised by candidates and reported to the Michigan Bureau of Elections was dwarfed by unreported spending by the political parties and outside groups interested in tilting the balance on the court. 

"One ad run by an independent group against Bridget McCormack, a Democratic candidate for a seat on the court, featured the mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan and suggested that Ms. McCormack’s legal work for a detainee released from Guantánamo Bay in 2007 showed support for terrorism. Ms. McCormack won the race.

“Of the $15 million or so spent for TV ads in Michigan, 75 percent cannot be attributed to identifiable donors, notes Rich Robinson, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, which advocates changing Michigan law to bar undisclosed independent spending. “That exceeds even the 2010 record, when half the total spending on Michigan Supreme Court races came from secret sources.”