At judicial reform forum, Moyer says Gardner bill helpful May 3, 2004 Hannah News Service With a couple of dozen people in attendance, Rev. Richard A. Burnett, Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, kicked off a discussion among Statehouse court watchers on the topic of judicial reform in Ohio, which included concluding remarks by Supreme Court Chief Justice J. Moyer. Cliff Arnebeck, a public interest attorney and board member of Common Cause/Ohio who has been involved in litigation to enforce Ohio election laws, painted a picture of financial contributions that begged the question: "Is justice for sale in Ohio?" Arnebeck argued that, while SB214-Gardner is a step in the right direction, the ten to one return on corporate investments in judicial races is reason enough to, as he said, "chop down the corporate money tree" to avoid the flagrant problems that arose during the Supreme Court races of 2000. Charles McConville, managing director of political affairs for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce (OCC), said that corporate interests are not always at odds with the public interest and that a more impartial judicial system is important, although it is short-sighted to pick on corporations. He said that labor unions and personal injury trial attorneys dominated the funding field for Supreme Court of Ohio races prior to 2000, and that, given the desire to have "consistency and predictability" in the law, the business community understood that it needed to take an active role in judicial races, especially those of the Supreme Court. He said that the OCC would fight to keep confidential the names of contributors to races in 2000, legal at the time. The OCC voluntarily disclosed contributors in 2002. Catherine Turcer, legislative director for Ohio Citizen Action and the author of "2002 Contributions to Candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court," said $6.2 million was spent on Supreme Court races in 2000, and SB214 is a "decent effort at giving contributor information" to voters so they can see "who is connected to who." But she noted that the measure failed to name donors' employers, making connecting the dots harder. Turcer also advocated for a statewide voter information guide for judicial races. Bill Weisenberg, assistant director of public affairs and governmental relations for the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA), said OSBA "fully supports" SB214 as a bold attempt at disclosure. Weisenberg posed the question: "Does Ohio want an independent judiciary" to help frame his observations that citizens have serious doubts about the independence of their judges. He supported his contention with a poll that found that 83 percent of those questioned said political contributions do influence judicial decisions. As a long-time Statehouse lobbyist, Weisenberg said political contributions are not given to achieve "fairness," but to further the goals of special interests making the contributions. OSBA, Weisenberg said, is still supportive of Ameriplan, an initiative that would appoint judges for two years, giving them an opportunity to demonstrate their judicial abilities before they would then go before voters for a full term. Weisenberg, who said it would take "a sea change in Ohio," argued that strengthening the penalty for failing to disclose contributors would force compliance. Endorsing Turcer's notion of a voter information guide for judges, Weisenberg also suggested that the years of practice be extended before a candidate can run for a judicial seat and requiring pre-judicial training. Chief Justice Moyer said that, while he believes our system of justice is the best in the world, "We can do better." Acknowledging that "there is a dark side" to free speech, Moyer said "no one will be hurt by SB214" because it will temper the strident, bitter messages that have come from "unauthorized campaigns" in the past. Moyer, who said that Neil Armstrong would not have gone to the moon if he had understood that once there he would have to run a one-hundred yard dash, said SB214 moves everyone in the right direction.