April 14, 2014

The John Doe

The Supreme Court has been asked by the governor, Scott Walker, to review the legality of the John Doe campaign finance between he and other groups of interest. The term, "John Doe," refers to the grand jury investigation, but it is held in front of a judge rather than a jury. Walker had coordinated with a few electoral groups such as WCFG (Wisconsin Club For Growth) and they had spent over $9 million just for the recall elections; some groups spent more. Other crimes Walker has experienced while in office is the embezzlement of money, campaign finance violations, and political corruption. This time, the dispute was over the interpretations of state campaign finance laws. In this case, the Supreme Court was conflicted. Two of the groups had contributed large sums of money to get four of the justices to their current positions. The court has not yet decided whether or not they will take this case. 

I believe that the Supreme Court should not take up this case. It has become too personal between the interest groups and the Court, and if they rule against these organizations, the organizations may stop funding the justices who they were already supporting. With this in mind, those justices may vote in favor of the organizations that fund them without actually believing in the cause. This situation is a tough one for the Supreme Court; it should not be the one to handle the case.