We have grown accustomed – sadly – to the increasing political clout businesses have gained in the N.C. General Assembly and the governor’s mansion.
Between Gov. Pat McCrory’s long association with Duke Energy and now a high-dollar donor seeking a contract from the state prison system, the governor has spent much of his first term trying to untangle related questions and allegations.
But North Carolinians are not so used to worrying about financial influence in state courtrooms. It wasn’t so long ago that the public financing system for North Carolina’s judicial campaigns was considered a national model, one praised by candidates from both parties.
The legislature unwisely scrapped public financing shortly after Republicans gained control. As a result, North Carolina ranked second in the nation in 2014 for money spent on campaigns for seats on the N.C. Supreme Court, according to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice. Even worse, much of the $6 million generated during the campaigns came from lawyers, lobbyists and businesses, all of whom could one day find themselves appealing a decision to the state’s highest court.
It’s one thing to take on a legislature that has been heavily bankrolled by certain industries looking for “business friendly” legislation. But how would you like to face a judge over litigation against a company that has spent a bunch of money to put the candidate of its choice on the bench?
Campaign spending is bigger than ever behind the scenes of North Carolina courtrooms. And it didn’t have to be this way.
