Illinois Supreme Court candidate Lloyd Karmeier, 64, is the veteran of two successful judicial retention elections, yet he had never sponsored a fundraiser, purchased a television commercial or solicited a special-interest donation.
“I am a judge from Washington County,” he declares, as if that should be enough.It often is. In judicial politics, low-cost campaigns are commonplace.
But Karmeier finds himself reluctantly drafted by business consortiums, including the Illinois Civil Justice League and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in their national battle to reform the practice of class-action lawsuits by influencing key judicial races.
“This is going to be one of the most watched judicial races in the country, and it could also be the most expensive,” said Edward Murnane, president of the non-profit Illinois Civil Justice League, a Chicago-based consortium of business and professional leaders.
In past judicial races spread among more than a half-dozen states, the chamber and business groups have collectively directed millions of dollars to influence key judicial races. In Illinois, class-action-reform advocates estimate $3 million could be raised to support Karmeier, said Murnane.
But Karmeier, who recently held his first fundraiser and has set up a Web site to solicit donations, is disturbed by the blatant political strategy.
“It’s an unfortunate change in circumstances when we are trying to look for an independent judiciary, and people seem to think they have to find a certain person to align themselves with or to be aligned with them,” Karmeier said.
Illinois Supreme Court Justice Philip Rarick, 62, said he would not run for another 10-year term after suffering a stroke. The seat will be filled in the November election. The next opening is not expected until 2010.
For business groups, the rare open seat is viewed as pivotal for control of judicial appointments in appellate and circuit courts in Edwardsville and 37 counties that comprise the 5th Judicial District, Murnane said.
No matter that the organizations hardly know Karmeier, a former state’s attorney who became a judge in 1986. For business groups, the most important fact is that he will oppose a Democrat, a former trial attorney turned appellate judge from Madison County.
Filings jump
Class-action suits have increased in Madison County, a blue-collar stronghold of 259,000 residents. In 1999, 12 class-action suits were filed in the county seat of Edwardsville, home of a Southern Illinois University campus. Last year, 106 such cases were filed.
In July, tobacco giant Philip Morris was stung with a staggering $10.1 billion verdict involving light-cigarette marketing practices. Plaintiffs’ attorneys sought $1.1 billion in fees. Many of the nation’s largest companies have been pulled into cases in Edwardsville, from AT&T; Corp. and Sears, Roebuck and Co. to State Farm Insurance and Lucent Technologies Inc.
Other than acknowledging that he is a clear underdog, Karmeier declined to discuss Madison County.
No Republican has won the 5th District seat since 1969. Since then, every occupant has been a resident of Madison County. Karmeier lives in Washington County.
His Democratic opponent, Appellate Court Judge Gordon Maag, 53, also is disturbed by the pro-business campaign strategy.
“I think it goes beyond unfortunate. I think it is quite sad that people believe they can go and attack the judiciary at random without knowing anything about who the candidates are,” said Maag.
“They [U.S. Chamber officials] don’t care about truth. They don’t care about integrity,” he said. “They only care about trying to spend a lot of big corporate money to buy a Supreme Court seat.”
State campaign records show Maag received about $125,000 in donations since July; Karmeier received about $88,000 during the same period.
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Maag, a Madison County resident, has experience as both a defense and plaintiffs’ attorney. He was appointed an associate judge in 1989 and appointed to the 5th District Appellate Court in 1992, winning retention in 1994.
Maag bristles that critics might equate him with problems associated with Madison County, comparing his situation with that of associates of former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair, who was found to have fabricated stories.
“Just like that young man in New York ought not to reflect badly on you, by the same token I don’t know if there is anything wrong in Madison County.” Maag said.
“Nobody’s perfect. And to the extent that it is not, then it ought to be corrected and cleaned up.”
`Judicial hellholes’
The Illinois Civil Justice League and U.S. Chamber have identified 10 other jurisdictions as “judicial hellholes.” Four hot spots are located in Texas, three in California and one each in Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri.
U.S. Chamber officials said their pro-business strategy is similar to efforts waged for years by trial attorney associations, which have given generously to select judicial campaigns. The chamber has poured tens of thousands of dollars into dozens of judicial campaigns nationally in the last few years.
Madison County campaign records show the bulk of judicial contributions come from trial attorneys, some who routinely appear before the judges. Illinois, as well as most states, does not consider such contributions a conflict of interest.
“Illinois is a problem state from our perspective, in particular Madison County and the 5th Appellate District. It is an issue for many, many in the business community,” said Lisa Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Affairs.
Discretion abused
An Illinois Supreme Court decision last year chipped away at Madison County’s controversial image.
In August, the Supreme Court overruled a lower court ruling that allowed a Macoupin County traffic accident case to be filed in neighboring Madison County. Citing that the “circuit court had abused its discretion,” six of seven justices agreed the case was inappropriately filed in Madison County and ordered it transferred to Macoupin County.
“The Supreme Court also expressed a concern that `forum shopping’ ought to be discouraged,” according to a court summary of the case.
Business activists hailed the decision as recognition by the high court that Madison County’s legal rulings must be reined in. Trial attorneys in Madison County maintain the decision carries no deeper significance.
Despite scattered problems such as venue shopping and quick settlements at the expense of victims, the class-action process is not fundamentally broken, said Edward Sherman, former dean and current professor of Tulane Law School.
“Class action is a very important procedural device in our legal system, and serves a very important purpose,” he said. “It’s primary purpose is to provide access to the courts for individuals who have a claim that is relatively small, so small that it is not economically feasible for them to hire an attorney.”