WV judicial transparency project

The purpose of this campaign to raise funds between Dec. 1, 2015 and Jan. 30, 2016 to create a crowd-sourced database with critical information about judicial candidates in preparation of the May primary when, for the first time West Virginia's history, they will run on a non-partisan ballot.  Information on the database will include, among other things, campaign finance reports,  legal malpractice suits, liens and judgments, writs of prohibition/mandamus and, most importantly, disciplinary complaints.

An opinion rendered in January 2015 by the state Supreme Court  in which a unanmious Court a la Col. Nathan R. Jessup declared the people couldn't handle the truth about being made aware of just the numbers of complaints filed against a judicial officer is the impetus for this database.  Information collected on it  will not just provide mere statistical data, but also the details of the complaint, and the decision rendered by the Judicial Investigation Commission.

My goal is to raise $15,000 by Jan. 30, 2016 filing deadline.  The bulk of funds raised will go toward paying qualified researchers to fan out among the 55 county courthouses to begin aggregating information in February, and promoting the database in April prior to early voting. 

With your help, West Virginia can be the leader in something postive, and our judicial system can legitimately be called "the most transparent of the three branches of government."