The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a political watchdog group, launched a new website Monday, impartialjustice.org, to educate the public about the growing influence of interest groups on state Supreme Court elections.
""The goal is pretty simple. We want to call attention to the threats to the independence of our court system '¦ We want to highlight ways to safeguard the independence of our courts,"" WDC Executive Director Mike McCabe said.
The website includes brochures, videos and a petition to stop the influence of special interests on court elections.
McCabe said it is too early to gauge how prominent the role of outside groups will be in the April 7 election between Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Jefferson County Judge Randy Koschnick.
According to McCabe, special interest groups did 90 percent of the advertising in the 2008 Supreme Court race, but they normally do not start advertising until after the primary election.
