Jan. 20, 2015
With funding from Voqal Fund, Mother Jones conducted a thorough investigation on the influence of political money, often hidden from public scrutiny, on judicial elections and decision-making.
The investigation included a first-of-its-kind dataset on contributions and spending at the district court level, combined with deep-dive investigative reporting and the smart use of digital tools and design.
Senior reporter Andy Kroll’s piece, “Is Your Judge for Sale?” not only explained the historical context and current state of Dark Money in the judicial system, but also used data-driven graphics to show the reader how the judicial system has been broken by the new flood of political money.
The story received extensive social media attention and Andy Kroll was subsequently interviewed on Democracy Now! and Bill Moyers.