The following election fundraiser ad by a judge (who is also the spouse of the Marion County Democratic party chair) earned an admonition from the Indiana Commission on Judicial Nominations:

Around August 15, 2011, invitations to a fundraiser to support the 2012 re-election campaign of Judge Pierson-Treacy were mailed to over six-hundred people in the Indianapolis area. The invitations notified potential donors that a fundraiser was to be held on September 15, 2011 at the office of a local attorney who is a co-chair of Judge Pierson-Treacy’s campaign committee. In the text of the invitation, under a heading marked “Suggested Contributions,” was a list of recommended monetary amounts with legal monikers next to them. The suggested contributions were written as:

$150 “Sustained”
$250 “Affirmed”
$500 “So Ordered”
$1000 “Favorable Ruling”

Recipients of the invitations then were directed to make checks payable to the “Re-Elect Judge Becky Committee” and to send the checks to a particular address.