Wisconsin is one of 10 states that was included in a story about Justice for sale

in state supreme court elections.

Is justice for sale at the state level? That is a legitimate question in the many states that now elect their supreme court justices. (Only 12 states do not elect their justices.)

A new study by The Center for Public Integrity shows that outside spending groups —including nonprofits that do not disclose their donors and state-level super PACs— are funneling more and more money into state supreme court races. And they’re having an impact. Out-of-state influence likely helped decide recent races in North Carolina, Iowa and Mississippi.

The Center examined 10 high-profile state supreme court elections in 2012 and 2013 in which outside spending was a factor. At least a third of the $11.7 million spent by independent groups originated outside the election states, mostly from Washington, D.C.-based organizations, according to our analysis of campaign finance reports, tax records and documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission.

Tracking all outside spending is nearly impossible thanks to lax state disclosure rules, as well as a loophole in the federal tax code that allows politically active nonprofits to run attacks ads without disclosing who funds them.



http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/06/13/12829/justice-sale-state-supreme-court-elections