Why Buy a Legislator When You Can Buy a Judge:

Adam Skaggs addresses the new form of influence peddling in a recent New Republic article. Actually, it's not so new, but it's a shift from recent trends: "As an Ohio AFL-CIO official put it, 'We figured out a long time ago that it's easier to elect seven judges than to elect one hundred and thirty-two legislators'."

The "trick" here is that the judgeships in question are elected positions rather than appointed ones as is the case for federal judgeships. Many states elect their judges. And elections nowadays cost lots of money. Back in the good old days, no one paid much attention to who was running to wear the black robes. Now, in the days of multi-million dollar tort suits, things are a little different. Corporations want to make sure the right dude is wearing the choir ensemble. And they've got the money to purchase the clout. Look out lady justice, you might be blind, but you've got no trouble seeing green.