Incumbent Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce should return any campaign contributions she has received from lawyers who argue cases in her courtroom, a Jefferson City lobbyist said Wednesday.
But Joyce's campaign committee issued a statement that those contributions are well within judges' ethical boundaries.
Lobbyist James M.N. Harris said in a news release that Joyce has accepted more than $14,000 in contributions from attorneys, including many who have cases in the Cole County circuit court.
"It is highly inappropriate for Judge Joyce to accept contributions from lawyers who regularly appear before her court, and we call on her to make a choice to restore the public's confidence in her impartiality," Harris said. "She should either refund these contributions or agree to recuse herself any time her donors come before her court."
Harris added, in a follow-up email: "As an elected judge, Judge Joyce has taken an oath to perform her duties impartially. ...
"Individuals may feel that they are at a disadvantage if they walk into Judge Joyce's courtroom and are facing a lawyer who is one of her political supporters."
Harris' news release noted the Missouri Supreme Court's Code of Judicial Conduct requires judges to "act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and (to) avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety."
He did not cite the permission granted a little later, in the same code, that judicial candidates may make a written campaign solicitation from any person or group, including those likely to appear before the judge.
In a countering news release, the Friends of Judge Pat Joyce committee noted: "Such contributions have been permitted in partisan elections since Missouri statehood. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that campaign contributions are an exercise of First Amendment free speech rights, and attorneys have a right to support judicial candidates whom they believe will do the best job.
"Who knows better than attorneys that are in court every day what the abilities of a judge are and who would do the best job?"
Joyce is a Democrat, seeking her third six-year term as a circuit judge.
Harris' release did not ask Republican Brian Stumpe, the current Jefferson City prosecutor who is challenging Joyce for the circuit judge's job, to return any attorney's donations he gets.
"If he wins I would hope he would return funds to any attorneys who have contributed to him or agree to recuse himself from cases involving the attorneys who have contributed to him," Harris said. "However, it is important to note that he is not currently a judge."
But, he said, Joyce's situation is different because she already serves on the bench.
Campaign reports filed with the Ethics Commission since April show that Stumpe has received one, $250 contribution from a lawyer in Kingdom City, while Joyce received donations from 47 individuals who identified themselves as attorneys, plus another seven contributions from area law firms.
Most of the donations listed were in the $100-$250 range. Although some of the contributors have made multiple donations, the largest single one listed was $1,000.
The next campaign finance quarterly report will be filed by next Wednesday.
Stumpe's next report will include the $100,000 contribution he received this weekend from the Washington, D.C.,based Republican State Leadership Committee.
Joyce's reports, to date, don't show any single contributions of more than $5,000.