Press Releases

ANNAPOLIS, Md., March 9, 2010Noting a sharp rise in national spending on court elections, the Justice at Stake Campaign testified today at a Maryland hearing on whether to end competitive elections for trial court judges. Speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bert Brandenburg, Justice at Stakes executive director, said special-interest...

CHARLESTON, W.VA., March 8, 2010West Virginias Senate Judiciary Committee has backed a plan to publicly finance the next state Supreme Court election, in an attempt to insulate courts from special-interest influence. The voice vote occurred only hours after a Justice at Stake-Committee for Economic Development poll was unveiled that showed...

EMBARGO NOTICE: Poll data not to be released before 1 p.m., March 8, 2010 CHARLESTON, W.VA., March 8, 2010West Virginia voters support public financing of elections for state Supreme Court justices, expressing deep concern that campaign funders currently can buy unfair influence in the courtroom. In a poll conducted Feb....

Media Advisory Kessler, Reform Groups to Unveil Poll on Public Financing What: Voters support public financing for Supreme Court elections, poll shows Who: Jeffrey Kessler, state senator and chair of Senate Judiciary Committee; Bert Brandenburg, executive director, Justice at Stake Campaign; Michael Petro, vice president, Committee for Economic Development When:...

Ruling Makes Election Reform ‘More Urgent Than Ever,’ Justice at Stake Says.

JAS and the Brennan Center have submitted testimony on the Wisconsin Supreme Court's proposed changes to recusal rules. The full testimony can be accessed online by clicking here, or going to www.justiceatstake.org. Previous testimony submitted by Justice at Stake can be accessed by clicking here.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court process has generated extensive publicity, which can be accessed at JAS’s Gavel Grab blog (www.gavelgrab.org). The court was expected to approve new rules at a Jan. 21, 2010, hearing.

Justice at Stake on the Citizens United decision: "This ruling pours gasoline on the fire of special-interest money that has been overtaking judicial elections.Interest group spending imperils our right to impartial justice by pressuring judges to rule with one eye on big-money contributors."

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Justice at Stake Campaign, a nonpartisan judicial watchdog group, announced the election of two attorneys, former Hispanic National Bar Association president Ramona Romero and Mark Harrison, to its board of directors.

A decade after special interest spending on state court elections spiked to unprecedented heights, 2009 brought a series of historic breakthrough reforms, according to the Justice at Stake Campaign, a nonpartisan national watchdog group. Executive Director Bert Brandenburg cited “major” victories in the U.S. Supreme Court and in Michigan and Wisconsin, two of the nation’s worst battleground states, that all reduce the effect of campaign cash on America’s courtrooms.

Election Reform Is Called a Huge Step to Protect State Courts Justice at Stake, a national watchdog group committed to fair and impartial courts, hailed the signing today of a new public financing law in Wisconsin for appellate court elections. Today, Wisconsin has taken a huge step to protect its...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2009—The following statement was issued today by Bert Brandenburg, executive director of the nonpartisan Justice at Stake Campaign, regarding the administration’s decision to try five September 11 defendants in federal court, rather than through military commissions:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2009  -- Justice at Stake praised the Michigan Supreme Court for taking steps to strengthen state judicial new ethics rules approved Thursday by Michigan’s Supreme Court. “Michigan has asserted national leadership today,” said Bert Brandenburg, executive director of the nonpartisan judicial watchdog group.

Wisconsin's legislature has approved public financing for state Supreme Court elections. "This is a big victory for citizens who fear that money is tipping the scales of justice," said Bert Brandenburg, JAS executive director. "The legislature has made Wisconsin a national leader in keeping our courts fair and impartial." Learn more.

JAS hailed a vote that advanced public financing for Wisconsin Supreme Court elections. “This is a major step forward in restoring public trust in the courts,” Executive Director Bert Brandenburg said. “Wisconsin judges would no longer have to dial for dollars from parties who appear before them in court.” Learn more.

As Wisconsin's Supreme Court prepares to review when judges should recuse themselves from cases involving campaign supporters, Justice at Stake, a national watchdog group, suggested that a review commission could help the Court sort through a series of complicated questions and competing claims.