THE THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW REVIEW and
THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF MICHIGAN
present the 2009 Law Review Annual Symposium:
SUPREME COURT ELECTION CAMPAIGNS: A THREAT TO FAIR AND IMPARTIAL COURTS?
Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 6:00 pm -8:30 p.m
Cooley Law School Temple Building, 6th Floor Auditorium, Lansing, Michigan
Open to the public, no charge.
The national trend of increasingly expensive and politicized state supreme court campaigns was evident in the 2008 Michigan Supreme Court election. Our distinguished speakers will discuss the role of special interest spending in judicial elections and the critical questions of due process and recusal, issues now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Caperton v. Massey Coal Company. We will also explore the campaign finance facts of recent Michigan Supreme Court campaigns, the legal argument and implications of the Caperton case, concerns of the business community about the role of money in judicial campaigns, and the public financing alternative for state supreme court election campaigns.
We are pleased to host the following speakers:
· Michael J. Petro, Vice President, Committee for Economic Development, Washington, D.C.
· Rich Robinson, Executive Director, Michigan Campaign Finance Network
· James Sample, Counsel, The Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School of Law
· Hon. James A. Wynn, Judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals