D.C. group's ads rip Goodson gifts, trial-lawyer links

$336,245 outlay called ‘dark money’

Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson
Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson

An out-of-state group has bought more than $335,000 worth of television ads at stations across the state that highlight gifts and campaign contributions from some trial attorneys to a candidate for the Arkansas Supreme Court.

On Monday, the Judicial Crisis Network, a Washington, D.C.-based group that says it advocates for limited government, aired the first of a month's worth of TV ads that criticize Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson in her bid to be the state's next chief justice.

A national judicial election watchdog group, Justice at Stake, said the ad buy breaks the state record for the amount of outside money being put into a state judicial election.

The Judicial Crisis Network ad, which says that Goodson has had campaign financial support and gifts from a network of trial attorneys, does not tell viewers for whom to vote but does tell them to call Goodson and "tell her to fight for Arkansans."

Goodson, who was first elected to the court in 2010, faces Mountain View Circuit Judge Dan Kemp in the March 1 nonpartisan judicial general election. If she loses the race for chief justice, Goodson will remain on the court until her current eight-year term expires.

The Judicial Crisis Network -- which in the past has run ads against U.S. Senate Democratic candidates -- bought a month's worth of ads in every market in the state, totaling 527 30-second ads that cost $336,245.

By comparison, Goodson's campaign has purchased at least $102,375 worth of TV ads on network affiliates in the state so far.

The Judicial Crisis Network did not return a message for comment. A Goodson campaign spokesman referred the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to a statement the campaign gave The Associated Press on Monday. The statement called the ad a "coordinated effort" by Kemp and his allies. The Democrat-Gazette recently published a series of articles about campaign contributions to Supreme Court justices.

"If Dan Kemp lacks the integrity to stop them, it's a sign to every secret interest group in the country that Arkansas' courts are for sale," Goodson's campaign said in the statement released to the AP. "Outside groups are not welcome in this race, and Dan Kemp should stop using dark money to buy a seat on our Supreme Court."

"Dark money" is a political shorthand term for money used by certain groups on campaign advertisements. Unlike a candidate's campaign or other fundraising organizations, groups like the Judicial Crisis Network are not required to publicly disclose the sources of their funds.

Kemp's campaign manager, Erin Brogdon, said she and the campaign are unfamiliar with the Judicial Crisis Network.

"We are solely focused on running a positive campaign highlighting Judge Kemp's experience on the bench," she said in a text message.

Justice at Stake, a nonpartisan group based in Washington, D.C., that says it tries to ensure an independent judiciary by reducing the influence of special interests, said the Judicial Crisis Network's ad buy more than doubles the amount of money that was spent by groups outside Arkansas on judicial races in the 2013-14 election cycle.

Justice at Stake, which works with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, in a news release describes Judicial Crisis Network as a rightist group.

In the run-up to the 2014 elections, Judicial Crisis Network paid for ads against then-U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor in the Democrat's re-election bid, according to the network's website.

In that same election cycle, the Judicial Crisis Network spent $528,000 in judicial races in Wisconsin and Tennessee, officials from Justice at Stake said. The Judicial Crisis Network also spent at least $600,000 on advertising opposed to a Supreme Court candidate in Michigan, Justice at Stake reported.

"Everyone in Arkansas should be concerned about this national organization pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into a state judicial race to shape its high court, and they should be asking tough questions," said Liz Seaton, interim executive director of Justice at Stake, in the statement. "Why are they spending, and to what end? Most importantly, what return on investment are they anticipating?"

According to Justice at Stake, so-called dark money from outside groups totaled about $164,560 in Arkansas two years ago, including money for ads by another group that were critical of then-Supreme Court candidate Tim Cullen, accusing Cullen of treating child pornography as a "victimless crime." Despite raising more campaign contributions than his opponent, Cullen lost that race for associate justice to Robin Wynne.

In anticipation of similar ads by outside groups, a group of retired Arkansas justices, judges and attorneys formed the Judicial Campaign and Education Committee. The group has asked judicial candidates to sign a pledge to disavow any ad or organization if the group's rapid response team finds that the ad is clearly misleading or unfair.

One of the committee's leaders, former Supreme Court Justice Annabelle Imber Tuck, said she wasn't aware of any complaint about the Judicial Crisis Network ad, but the committee is monitoring any ads going forward.

"This is just the beginning," Tuck said. "I'm not surprised. We're less than two weeks out from early voting."

Early voting starts Feb. 16.

The ad sponsored by the Judicial Crisis Network criticized Goodson for taking nearly $100,000 in gifts, which included jewelry and furs, plus a $50,000 trip to Italy paid for by an associate of her husband, who is trial attorney John Goodson.

"And [Goodson] took over $140,000 from six trial lawyer firms while those firms make millions," the ad stated. "Italian getaways, enriching trial lawyers. Call Courtney Goodson and tell her to fight for Arkansans, not trial lawyers."

The content or the style of the ad should be no surprise, according to Hendrix College political science professor Jay Barth.

"I think the [information] was there, it was all very public and indeed, a part of her own disclosure," Barth said. "I think it's ironic that this dark money group is employing Justice Goodson's disclosure records when they themselves are not required to disclose to the same degree."

Barth has said that Goodson appeared to be a front-runner when she announced her campaign in September. Kemp announced when he filed in November.

But over the past few months, Kemp has raised more money in campaign contributions than Goodson, and his contributors include some of the biggest names in the Arkansas business community.

Barth said that ads like those of the Judicial Crisis Network are good investments for outside groups looking to sway the electorate. Judicial candidates are nonpartisan, and they are barred from discussing several things, such as particular court rulings, and voters often have little to go on.

Whether or not there will be an outside group to start attacking Kemp, who has spent three decades as a judge, is the "$500,000 question," Barth said.

"[This campaign is one] that will smack some as being dirtier than normal," he said. "If someone comes in on the other side and we have a very aggressive race on both sides, it may add some momentum into how we change judicial selection in Arkansas."

A Section on 02/09/2016

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