VOA慢速英语 金钱,影响和法官选举

　　Money, Influence and the Election of Judges

　　金钱,影响和法官选举

　　This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

　　Elected judges in the United States got a warning this week about money, politics and the law. The Supreme Court ruled that a huge campaign donation can be reason enough not to judge a case involving the donor.

　　Thirty-nine of the fifty states elect at least some of their judges. Terms can last from two to twelve years. Experts say Japan and Switzerland are the only other countries that hold some kind of judicial elections.

　　In many states, elections for judges are increasingly competitive. The Justice at Stake Campaign says candidates raised one hundred sixty-eight million dollars between two thousand and two thousand seven. The group says that was double the amount raised in the nineteen nineties.

　　Critics say the situation threatens the fairness of state courts. It may create the appearance that judges are selling their influence.

　　The Supreme Court ruled on a vote by a judge elected to West Virginia's high court five years ago. Justice Brent Benjamin -- now chief justice -- voted to overturn a fifty million dollar judgment against the Massey Coal Company.

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