New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Patricio M. Serna will retire August 31, 2012. He has served on the Court since 1996 and was elected by his colleagues to serve a two-year term as Chief Justice, from 2001 through 2002. Justice Serna has served on IAALS' Board of Advisors since our beginning in 2006.
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ordered a hearing for October 30, 2012 to consider comments submitted in response to select portions of the Minnesota Supreme Court Civil Justice Reform Task Force’s Final Report dated December 23, 2011 and its Supplemental Report dated May 22, 2012.
Of the 14 applicants for a supreme court vacancy, the judicial nominating commission voted to interview nine, including three Democrats. This was the most Democrats to make it to the interview stage and could have provided the largest number of nominees from which to choose of three vacancies that Governor Brewer has filled.
A study of the sentencing practices of superior court judges suggests that their elections influence their behavior, with judges handing out stiffer sentences from the time they take the bench to their first election.
The plaintiff in a challenge to the constitutionality of the process for selecting the state's appellate judges asked two retired supreme court justices and a former federal judge to recuse themselves from a special five-member panel appointed by Governor Haslam to hear the case, alleging that as former judges "their impartiality might reasonably be questioned."
Senator Durbin of Illinois formed a thirteen-member, bipartisan screening committee to recommend potential candidates to President Obama for three judicial vacancies in the Northern District. Before making final recommendations, Durbin plans to consult with his Republican counterpart, Senator Kirk, who uses a similar committee process.
A trial court judge who was removed from office on July 31 for ethics violations was one of the top-two vote getters in the August 7 primary election for her seat and will advance to the general election. According to the supreme court, her removal extends only through the end of the year.
Conservative candidates for the state senate defeated moderates in at least seven Republican primary contests, making it likely that conservatives will hold 27 of 32 GOP seats in the 40-member senate in 2013-14. One of their key policy priorities is expected to be moving from merit selection of appellate judges to gubernatorial appointment with senate confirmation.
A trial judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to remove three supreme court justices from the November retention ballot, ruling that the two Florida voters who filed the suit lack standing. With the assistance of the Southeast Legal Foundation, the voters claimed that the justices violated state law by using court employees to assist in filing campaign documents.
In a state where judicial elections are nonpartisan in the sense that party affiliation does not appear on the ballot, the state Republican party endorsed three supreme court candidates, including two incumbents.
The commission on judicial performance released evaluation reports for 90 judges standing for retention in November. Only one judge—a county court judge in El Paso County—received a “do not retain” recommendation.
The state AFL-CIO endorsed the Republican candidate for chief justice, Roy Moore. Though the organization usually backs Democratic candidates, its president said that Moore has a record of “treating the average person fairly in court.” Moore has also received $55,000 in contributions to date from plaintiff attorneys.