News & Updates

From three finalists named by the judicial nominating commission, Governor Daniels appointed county court judge Loretta Rush to the supreme court. This appointment leaves only two states (Idaho and Iowa) without a woman on the highest court.

In a recent press release, The Justice at Stake Campaign (JAS) suggests changing spending patterns may indicate a new phase of judicial election spending. JAS reports campaign spending is expected to fall in states dominated by a single political party, while spending is expected to spike in closely contested states.

In a recent editorial, The New York Times argues the current judicial selection method of electing high state court judges makes the judiciary more susceptible to influence by campaign donors. The New York Times suggests judges should be appointed through merit selection.

The Diane Rehm Show discusses how judicial elections and appointment processes impact fairness in state courts. Some critics argue elections create political biases which weaken judicial impartiality. Others argue elections provide a way for the people to hold judges accountable and that the key to keeping courts fair and impartial is by educating the public.

The Superior Court of Maricopa County, Arizona has prepared a short video that describes its process for selecting, evaluating, and retaining judges. Appellate courts and trial courts in the three largest counties use the O'Connor Judicial Selection Plan, and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is featured in the video.

The state Republican Party chair called for voters to remove one of four supreme court justices standing for retention in November. Justice David Wiggins participated in the 2009 unanimous ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the state, and three of his colleagues lost their bids for retention in 2010.

With Justice Patricio Serna’s retirement at the end of August, the state political parties are meeting to nominate candidates to run for the seat in November. Ordinarily, nominees would be chosen in partisan primary elections, but the vacancy is occurring after the June primaries.

Some senators are pushing to abolish the governor’s council, one of the chief responsibilities of which is to confirm judicial appointments. The council has come under fire recently for “unorthodox questioning” of judicial nominees and “inflammatory behavior” of some members.

Three former judges recused themselves from hearing a challenge to the state’s appellate judge selection process, citing the need to preserve the integrity of the special five-member panel appointed by Governor Haslam to decide the case.

In the dispute over who should replace Kitty Kimball as chief justice when she steps down in early 2013, a federal district court judge ruled that Justice Bernice Johnson’s service from 1994 to 2000 as part of a civil rights case settlement should count toward her seniority. Attorneys for the state had argued that the issue should be decided by the state supreme court, and they have appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The Akron Bar Association formed a judicial campaign conduct committee as part of an effort to improve the tone and conduct of local judicial campaigns. The committee will ask candidates to sign a clean-campaign pledge and will review complaints about improper campaign behavior. The committee consists of five Democrats, five Republicans, and an independent and includes eight lawyers and three non-lawyers.

While the state bar association supports Proposition 115, which goes before voters in November, other members of the legal community oppose its passage. Among other changes, the measure would increase the number of nominees from which the governor makes judicial appointments and give the governor greater control over the membership of the commission that makes the nominations.

The three justices standing for retention in November embarked on a tour of news organizations around the state in an effort to better inform voters about the merit selection and retention process for appellate judges. The justices have raised nearly $975,000 to support their retention.

An incumbent justice seeking reelection denied violating canons of judicial ethics in response to a charge by his opponent that he accepted a campaign contribution from a party whose case he heard. Republican Justice Robert Cupp said that he does not monitor who his contributors are and his campaign committee does not monitor his docket.

The Democratic candidate for chief justice was removed as his party’s nominee for reportedly making “disparaging remarks about homosexuals, his Republican opponent and party leaders.” Following a hearing, a five-member party committee voted unanimously to take this step and reopened the qualifying period for candidates.

Although the senate judiciary committee voted not to recommend her confirmation to the full senate, the senate confirmed Su J. Chon’s appointment as a district court judge by a 17-10 margin.

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.