V Ad Spending in Arkansas Supreme Court Race Doubles from 2012 Election

TV Ad Spending in Arkansas Supreme Court Race Doubles from 2012 Election

Justice at Stake Contact: Laurie Kinney | lkinney@justiceatstake.org | 202-588-9454 | cell 571-882-3615 Brennan Center for Justice Contact: Seth Hoy | seth.hoy@nyu.edu | 646-292-8369

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 21, 2014-  Television ad spending in an Arkansas Supreme Court race totaled $360,500 this year, nearly double what was spent ($168,410) in 2012, according to estimatesreleased by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and Justice at Stake. Appeals Court Judge Robin Wynne narrowly defeated (52-48) Little Rock attorney Tim Cullen for an open seat on Arkansas’s Supreme Court.  Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA), an outside group with reported ties to the NRA, outspent both candidates with $317,280 on ads attacking Tim Cullen. The ads accused him of working “to throw out the sentence of a repeat sexual predator” and defending child pornography as a "victimless crime." Cullenresponded that the accusations were false and explained how the group’s reference is a misinterpretation of the facts. The LEAA spent more than ten times what Cullen spent ($31,750) on television ads and more than 30 times more than what Judge Robin Wynne spent ($11,470), according to estimates.  "The high ad spending in Arkansas Supreme Court race comes on the heels of a $1.3-million dollar judicial primary in North Carolina, which was also fueled by out-of-state money,” said Bert Brandenburg, executive director of Justice at Stake. “So much spending, so much negativity, and so much outside meddling happening so early are turning 2014 into a year of escalating pressure on our courts of law.” “I’m not at all surprised that outside groups outspent candidates in this race,” said Alicia Bannon, Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice. “It’s a disturbing trend that we’re seeing across the country. Special interest groups are using attack ads to play politics with our courts, and in many cases judicial candidates are being outspent and unjustly maligned.”  This is not the first time the LEAA has sought to influence judicial elections. According to a report out of the Center for American Progress, the LEAA spent “nearly half a million dollars in 2012 to elect Justice Josiah Coleman to the Mississippi high court …. and spent even more to elect pro-gun state attorneys general.” ### Television spending data for the Arkansas race, ads, and storyboards, are available at the Brennan Center’s Buying Time: Arkansas 2014 webpage. TV Methodology All data on ad airings and spending on ads are calculated and prepared by Kantar Media/CMAG, which captures satellite data in the nation’s largest media markets. CMAG’s calculations do not reflect ad agency commissions or the costs of producing advertisements, nor do they reflect the cost of ad buys on local cable channels. The costs reported here therefore likely understate actual expenditures

Justice at Stake is a nonpartisan organization working to keep America’s courts fair and impartial. Justice at Stake and its 50-plus state and national partners work for reforms to keep politics and special interests out of the courtroom—so judges can protect our Constitution, our rights and the rule of law. Justice at Stake also educates Americans about the role of the courts, promotes diversity on the bench, and supports adequate resources for courts. The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that seeks to improve our systems of democracy and justice. The Center’s work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from racial justice in criminal law to Constitutional protection in the fight against terrorism. A singular institution—part think tank, part public interest law firm, part advocacy group, part communications hub—the Brennan Center seeks meaningful, measurable change in the systems by which our nation is governed.