Interest group activism in the state judiciary

While the judiciary avoids the appearance of being a "political" branch of government, there are accepted ways by which organized interests may attempt to influence state courts' composition and behavior. This may be accomplished by the filing of amicus curiae briefs in cases before the courts or by attempting to influence judicial elections through political action committee (PAC) contributions. High-profile and expensive elections for many states' supreme courts have raised questions as to what degree interest groups attempt to influence the decisions of these courts in their favor. Alabama is one state in which supreme court elections have been marked by a significant increase in the amount of contributions given to candidates since 1992. This study investigated the level of interest group activism targeted toward Alabama's state supreme court by measuring amicus curiae filings to the court and PAC contributions to individual candidates. The data indicate that the number of cases with amicus curiae briefs filed and the number of interest groups acting as amicus curiae have increased significantly over previous decades. As expected, the number of political action committees contributing in judicial races has also increased dramatically. Contribution patterns among political action committees during the 1990s indicate a complexity comparable to strategies utilized by interest groups in their attempts to influence congressional elections. Finally, the data indicate that a significant number of active interest groups combines both of these activities in strategies to influence the behavior of the court.