News & Updates

The D.C. Bar Judicial Evaluations Committee is beginning its annual survey of attorneys about judges sitting on the D.C. Court of Appeals and D.C. Superior Court. The results of the evaluations are given to the evaluated judge and the chief judge of his/her court.

In the wake of the November elections, the California Supreme Court adopted amendments to the code of judicial ethics that address judicial campaigns. The new rules require appellate judges, who stand for retention every twelve years, to recuse themselves from hearing cases involving parties who have made campaign contributions of at least $5000.

Judicial performance evaluation results published by the new Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission (JPEC) were not seen by many Utah citizens, the JPEC reports. For the first time, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office did not send the voter information pamphlet to all registered voters.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has made history by being the first major federal courthouse in the country to have an all-woman bench. And five of the six judges are women of color.

Several groups have filed a motion requesting that Justice Paul Newby recuse himself from hearing their challenge to the legislature’s redistricting plan because of the campaign support he received from individuals and groups with a direct stake in the outcome of the litigation.

Governor Rick Perry appointed his chief of staff to fill a supreme court vacancy created by Justice Dale Wainwright’s September resignation. Governor Perry has a history of appointing close advisors to top state positions including seats on the high court.

Governor Sam Brownback and his conservative allies have gained substantial majorities in both houses of the Kansas Legislature as a result of the recent general election. With this support, it is predicted that in early 2013 Governor Brownback will propose a constitutional amendment replacing the current merit selection system for the Kansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals with partisan elections along with term limits to create turnover on the benches.

Speaking at the Colorado Judicial Institute’s Tenth Annual Judicial Excellence for Colorado dinner, former Iowa justices Marsha Ternus, David Baker, and Michael Streit stressed the importance to the business and legal communities of maintaining an independent judiciary. According to Justice Ternus, this is a critical factor for businesses in deciding where to locate, as they “want predictability and to know that the courts follow the facts of law, not the whims of special interest groups.”

People for the American Way lauded the work of a federal judicial screening committee established by Senators Udall and Bennet to assist them in recommending to the White House a replacement for a retiring U.S. District Court judge. Upon learning of Chief Judge Wiley Daniel’s plans to take senior status, the senators reactivated the 11-member bipartisan panel they have used for two previous vacancies.

Proponents of replacing Minnesota’s nonpartisan judicial elections with commission-based gubernatorial appointment, retention elections, and performance evaluation were pleased to see Democrats regain a majority in the legislature for 2013, believing that the reform movement lost momentum when Republicans took over in 2010.

In an interview with Parade Magazine, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Honorary Chair of the Advisory Committee to the Quality Judges Initiative, discusses why approval ratings for the U.S. Supreme Court justices have fallen, stressing that the public's broken confidence in the courts is due to misconceptions that the Court should base their decisions on political and personal beliefs rather than on the law.

The defeat of two incumbent supreme court justices has led some to consider making changes to the judicial election process. Neither justices’ qualifications were called into question, and both received higher ratings from the state bar association than did their challengers—one of whom was “not recommended.”

Senate Republicans are split on whether to consider confirmation of judicial nominees, many of which have been pending for several months, during the lame-duck session or wait until the next Congress.

In Bexar County, the recent election has produced another wave of straight-ticket voting on judges. Texas is one of only three states in which voters can cast a straight-party ballot for all candidates, including judicial candidates. This year, Democrats won all but one of the races, but in 2010, a similar partisan sweep resulted in Republicans winning every contested judicial race in Bexar County.

Following the defeat of a proposed constitutional amendment that would have given the governor greater authority in appointing nominating commission members and more discretion in selecting judges, supporters of the measure vowed to "regroup and move forward with something more aggressive" for 2014.

Two supreme court candidates who face a December runoff have taken different tacks in their campaigns. While one candidate has discussed his position as "pro-life, pro-gun and pro-traditional marriage" and a supporter of the death penalty, the other has not publicly shared his views because he does not want to risk having to recuse himself from hearing cases involving controversial issues in the future.

This special edition of Selection Snapshots provides an overview of the challenges to judicial retention, court-related ballot measures, supreme court elections, public financing of judicial campaigns, and judicial campaign oversight committees.

On Bill Moyer's show, Sally Pederson and Joy Corning, co-founders of a bipartisan coalition called Justice Not Politics, discuss the risks to the judicial system when "justices are at the mercy of partisan passions and money in politics." Justice Not Politics successfully campaigned against conservative groups in Iowa that were working to oust a justice involved in a 2009 unanimous decision recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

LawWeek Colorado recently interviewed Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis about IAALS' efforts to build public confidence and trust for judges and the court system. Referencing a recent publication of the Quality Judges Initiative, "Cornerstones of State Judicial Selection," Kourlis asserts that constituents expect judges to be honest, fair, and faithful to the rule of law and for courts to be impartial, accountable, and transparent. To achieve these principles, Kourlis says that citizens need to think critically about whether the current judicial retention system is delivering what they want out of judges and the courts.

While the last decade has seen a sort of "nationalization" of state high court races, coverage of election night results remains below that of congressional races. In 2010, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) attempted, thanks to advancements in reporting from the various secretaries of state as well as social media, to offer up election night coverage via Twitter (@StateCourts) and with a website dedicated to compiling the results. Coverage will be back again in 2012.