judicial elections

January 16, 2015 - Next week the U.S. celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It also marks the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that ended campaign spending limits -- and the two occasions are more closely linked than many realize.

November 20, 2014 - A study by the Center for American Progress looked at the success rates of law firms arguing cases before North Carolina's highest court and compared them to the firms' contributions to justices' campaigns. The findings underscore concerns about impartiality in a court system flooded in political money since the end of the state's public financing program for judicial races.

November 5, 2014 - Propositions dealing with hot-button issues including the minimum wage, fracking, marijuana, income taxes, abortion, Islamic Sharia law, and political corruption were on state and local ballots across the South this year. We take a look at how they fared.

October 31, 2014 - In the first year since the demise of the state's judicial public financing program, candidate fundraising and outside spending have pushed the cost of North Carolina court elections to a record high.

October 23, 2014 - Over the past 15 years, North Carolina's high court has sided against the environment in every major environmental law case it's considered, a new study finds. And with the court's three Democrats facing tough re-election challenges, the odds could become even more stacked.

October 9, 2014 - With judicial public financing gone in North Carolina, would-be judges must chase campaign money -- a process that has some experts calling for reform while leaving voters leery of a politicized judiciary.

September 11, 2014 - A Facing South analysis finds that candidates for the North Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals are set to spend record sums on campaign ads in the coming weeks. The election will be the first in a decade without the state's public financing program for judges, and special-interest money is pouring in.