By Dave Tartre | Courthouse News Service
Campaigning limits that Arizona sets on judicial candidates had the 9th Circuit trying to reconcile the realities of electioneering with traditional codes for judicial conduct.
Randolph Wolfson was trying to win a seat in the Mohave County Superior Court in 2008 when he challenged rules that prohibit judicial candidates from endorsements or direct fundraising activities.
He sued members of the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct, the Arizona Disciplinary Commission and the State Bar of Arizona.
Even though he had pledged not to make promises to campaign donors about how he would rule if elected, Wolfson claimed that the Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct, which is also called “The Canons,” unconstitutionally silenced him in two elections.
