Public Interest Lawyering & Judicial Politics: Four Cases Worth a Second Look in Williams-Yulee v. the Florida Bar

Abstract

This "First Look" Essay argues that the Court should consider public interest lawyering when it decides a First Amendment challenge to the Canon prohibiting judicial candidates from soliciting money in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar. It suggests that four cases are worth a "second look": Republican Party of Minnesota v. White (2002); Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. (2009); Shelley v. Kraemer (1948); and a Florida Supreme Court case involving discipline of a judge, In re Hawkins.

Keywords: First Amendment, Ethics, Public Interest Lawyering, Courts and Judges, Judicial Elections