Arkansas task force makes recommendations to curtail misleading advertising in judicial election campaigns
June 14, 2012
Little Rock, Arkansas: A task force composed of Arkansas lawyers and judges has made recommendations to the Arkansas Bar Association and the Arkansas Judicial Council with the goal of preventing the use of misleading advertisements in judicial election campaigns.[1]
Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Robert L. Brown was the leader of the task force and has led the effort for the prevention of "false advertisements being run by well financed third parties and Super Pacs."[2] As one commenter has noted, the potential for misleading ads has grown in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, and "[j]udicial elections are especially subject to such outside interference because few candidates are well-financed enough to fight back and they’re limited in what they can discuss."[3] According to Justice Brown, some surrounding states, including Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi, and Texas, have already had judicial elections decided by misleading advertisements. Justice Brown hopes that by taking protective measures, the same thing can be prevented in Arkansas.[1]
The task force will create an independent nonprofit organization called the Arkansas Judicial Campaign and Education Committee, Inc. whose purpose is to foster education for the voting public in judicial races.[2] That organization will "post an online voters guide, counter what it considers misleading or false judicial campaign ads and provide a pledge which judicial candidates would sign voluntarily, stating they would abide by the code of judicial conduct."[1]
Skeptics have expressed concerns that the organization will have little real authority, since its pronouncements will carry "non-binding moral, rather than legal, weight." It remains to be seen whether that moral authority will be enough to discourage interested and wealthy third parties from airing misleading advertisements about candidates for Arkansas judgeships.[2]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 KUAR.org, "Judicial Election Task Force Calls For Nonprofit To Counter Misleading Ads," June 8, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Arkansas Times Blog, "An umpire for judicial elections," June 8, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas News, "Task force moves to protect judicial elections from toxic campaigning," June 12, 2012 (dead link)
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