As a result of the standoff between Governor Christie and Democratic leaders in the legislature, one-fourth of the judgeships on the Essex County Superior Court are vacant. The governor is said to be refusing to fill these seats because the senate has not confirmed his appointee as education commissioner for nearly a year.

A trial court judge was removed from hearing all asbestos cases after accepting $30,000 in campaign contributions from attorneys whose firms had cases on the judge’s asbestos docket.

While campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich touted his role in helping to fund the campaign to defeat the three supreme court justices up for retention in 2010.

A campaign finance reform task force recommended public financing for judicial elections. The state first enacted limits on contributions to judicial and other candidates in 2009.

The supreme court requested that the legislature create 72 new judgeships, but budget shortfalls make such a step unlikely. The court has requested new judgeships in each of the past five budget years.

Justice Gerry Alexander is retiring after 38 years of service on the state’s courts. He reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2011.

Under a new code of judicial conduct that goes into effect in January, the political activities of judicial candidates are strictly curtailed. The new rules were issued at the same time that a judge is awaiting trial on bribery charges.

A newly elected judge sent letters to 700 local lawyers soliciting $100 contributions to help defray his campaign debt.

The Senate confirmed supreme court justice Morgan Christen's appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Governor Palin appointed Christen to the state high court in 2009.

Questions were raised as to whether Justice Michael Gableman violated the state ethics code and the code of judicial conduct by accepting free legal services in defending himself against a judicial ethics violation charge arising from his 2008 campaign. In two cases, Gableman voted in favor of parties represented by the firm that provided free legal services to him.

The Winter 2011 edition of Transparent Courthouse® Quarterly is now available. Transparent Courthouse® Quarterly is a quarterly newsletter reporting...

Another take on what legal education reform is not (Dean Martin Katz recently posted on the topic here): The purpose of a skills class, a clinic, or a course that incorporates new teaching methods is not to teach when to reply to a motion, where the court house is, or how to fill out forms, it is to better teach doctrine and how to apply that doctrine to practical problems.