Judicial Candidates

By Angela Hatton

Frankfort, KY – A federal judge today threw out some of the regulations restricting judicial candidates in Kentucky. Candidates may now identify themselves by party and can raise campaign cash. U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell in Frankfort ruled today that the Kentucky Bar Association's rule against judicial candidates identifying themselves by party is unconstitutional. Caldwell also found unconstitutional the bar association's rule against judges and judicial candidates soliciting campaign funds. The ruling came in a case brought by Marcus Carey, who ran an unsuccessful race for the state Supreme Court in 2006. Carey argued that rules barring him from declaring his views on such legal issues as abortion and gay marriage infringe on his free-speech rights.