Even though judicial races are considered nonpartisan in Ohio, judicial campaigns are usually funded with campaign contributions. A government watchdog group鈥檚 report says once they鈥檙e on the bench, judges don鈥檛 recuse themselves when hearing a case involving those donors.
Common Cause鈥檚 Catherine Turcer says shows judges continue to hear cases involving their contributors and more often than not, rule in favor of them. She鈥檚 quick to say that doesn鈥檛 mean justice is for sale but she says it doesn鈥檛 look good for the judicial system.鈥淯nless you have the guardrails in place to make sure all judges step away so they don鈥檛 hear the cases of their campaign contributors, all Ohioans are going to wonder about their impartiality.鈥�
Turcer says other states have those guardrails. She says more transparency will help and says there are ways Ohio could set standards for recusal that would insure fairness.
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