Attention Must Be Paid (Editorial)

Robert Brown, the retired Arkansas Supreme Court justice, best summarized the problem with the state’s court system: “I think you have to do something about the money. That’s what it comes down to.”

Brown was referring to the appearance of favoritism shown by the state Supreme Court to a handful of law firms specializing in class-action cases. He was responding to questions from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which last week published an excellent three-part series that examined the role of financial contributions to judicial campaigns in the decisions rendered by those justices.

It’s worth your time to read every word, but essentially the newspaper found that the law firms that were among the biggest givers to campaigns of Supreme Court justices also benefitted greatly from the court’s rulings in class-action cases, rulings that “have translated into millions in legal fees.”

Arkansas Business also has written about those class-action lawyers, particularly John Goodson, husband of Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson, now seeking election to chief justice. We’ve detailed tactics by these lawyers that ensure them a big award but do little to advance the cause of justice — or their clients.

Now, many in Arkansas are debating whether electing justices to the state’s appellate courts is the best way of choosing them, including Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Others, like Brown, think changes to the judicial code of ethics should be considered.

We have two points:

• This debate is important and timely.

• The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obviously spent much time examining campaign finance disclosure records and court records and interviewing story subjects. This is hard and expensive work, but it’s essential to the functioning of a free society. Someone must pay attention all the time. We do not want to live in a state or a country without a robust free press.