I thank the Brennan Center for handing me this remarkably appalling piece of news — aside from the title, the bolding is mine:
Lawyers and Law Firms Dominate Nevada District Court Campaign Fundraising
A five-month investigation by KLAS-TV Las Vegas has uncovered that “the bulk of money flowing into judicial campaigns for [district court judgeships in Nevada’s Clark County is coming] from lawyers and law firms, many who have open and active cases being heard.” Through an analysis of public campaign finance reports, KLAS found that “777 lawyers and law firms donated more than a million dollars” to district court candidates. The news outlet also found that “[t]he top 10 donors alone have filed a combined 312 lawsuits before [the district court] judges from last year through mid-summer.” “The terms of all 52 district court judges expire at the end of the year, but 24 are unopposed for new terms.” Jeff Stempel, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said “[a] judge is like any other human being, going to be more predisposed to the people who are their friends, who supported them with campaign contributions, or election efforts or things like that.” He continued, “I think mostly, it’s a perception problem. I don’t think we have a significant problem with (outright) fraud, or conscious favoritism. What I think we have a problem with is clearly perception that justice could be for sale, for the people who contribute.”