Volume 3: Issue 3
The Supreme Court Limits State Censorship of Judicial Campaign Speech
The election of state judges has been controversial at least since the Progressive Era. For many years those uncomfortable with selecting judges through popular vote were successful, to one degree or another, in muzzling the speech of judicial candidates. In Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, a five member majority of the Court struck down one of the most restrictive of these regulations, and set the stage for further debate on the proper conduct of judicial elections.