Well, these deck chairs are looking good now, if only the ship weren't tilting!

New York’s top court officials will bar the state’s hundreds of elected judges from hearing cases involving lawyers and others who make significant contributions to their campaigns, a move that will change the political culture of courts and transform judicial elections by removing an important incentive lawyers have for contributing.

And creating a new incentive to contribute. How many defense firms would contribute $2500 a head to Tomie Green or Winston Kidd to enforce her recusal? How many plaintiff's lawyers would've given $2500 to stay out of Swan Yerger's courtroom? And wouldn't Billy Joe Landrum make out like a bandit under this system?

From the NYT, via LGM, some of whose commenters grasped this point immediately; the NYT article did not mention it at all.

The problem with judicial elections is not going to be solved by limiting contributions. It's going to be solved by getting rid of judicial elections.