News & Updates

The newly-formed Oklahoma Civil Justice Council is developing a judicial rating system that will rate court of civil appeals and supreme court judges on a scale of zero to 100, on the basis of their support for expanding business liabilities. The Council and its rating system are being backed by the State Chamber of Oklahoma and local Chamber affiliates. 

The American Bar Association (ABA) weighed in on the federal judicial nominations that are languishing in the U.S. Senate. On June 20, ABA President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III sent a letter on behalf of the ABA to Senate Majority and Minority Leaders expressing concern over judicial vacancies and urging the Senate to vote on those pending appellate court nominees who have strong bipartisan support. 

The judicial selection commission sponsored by Senators Inouye and Akaka submitted to the senators a list of three candidates for an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. The vacancy is due to Judge David Ezra taking senior status on June 27.

Governor Abercrombie appointed Circuit Court Judge Richard Pollack to the supreme court. Pollack was one of five nominees submitted by the judicial selection commission. This was Governor Abercrombie’s second appointment to the supreme court of his eighteen-month tenure, and he may have the opportunity to fill a third seat on the five-member court.

Two of the three supreme court justices up for reelection face challengers in the Republican primary. One justice’s opponent is running to “expose the corrosive influence of big business on the court,” while the other justice’s opponents “want to restore integrity to the court.” The third justice up for reelection faces a Democratic challenger in the general election.

The house judiciary committee tabled by a 13-12 vote a measure calling for merit selection of the state’s appellate judges, and it is unlikely that it will come up again before the legislature’s summer recess. Supporters credit trial lawyers and anti-abortion activists who oppose the measure with blocking its consideration.

The proposed 2012 platform of the Iowa Republican Party calls for state legislators to impeach judges who recognize a right to same-sex marriage and supports eliminating the role of the state judicial nominating commission in selecting judges and requiring senate confirmation. The platform will be voted on a the party convention.

After the governor failed to make a judicial appointment within the 30 day limit, the judicial selection commission made the appointment from its list of well-qualified nominees. The governor had selected the same nominee, but he was two days late in doing so.

Invoking what is known as the “Thurmond Rule,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that no votes would be allowed on nominees to the federal courts of appeals until after the November election. Nominees to the district courts will continue to be considered until at least early September.

As part of the Atlantic's "America the Fixable" series, IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis laid out the challenges currently facing the civil justice system—and a five-step plan to address them.

The judicial selection commission sponsored by Senators Inouye and Akaka submitted to the senators a list of three candidates for an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. The vacancy is due to Judge David Ezra taking senior status on June 27.

The state bar association gave a supreme court candidate a “not recommended” rating for the first time since 1998, indicating that less than sixty percent of bar members gave her a favorable evaluation. Three supreme court seats are up for election this year, with one incumbent justice running unopposed.

The appellate judicial commission invited applications for the supreme court vacancy to be created by Judge Ray Price’s October retirement. In announcing his plans to retire, Judge Price expressed his support for the state’s merit selection system and his hope that it would be used to choose his successor.

Governor Scott asked a state law enforcement agency to decide if an investigation is warranted into whether the three justices standing for retention in November violated state law by seeking assistance from court staff in filing election-related paperwork, and two citizens filed a lawsuit asking the secretary of state to remove the three justices from the ballot.

A November ballot measure known as Proposition 115 would make two fairly substantial changes to the judicial nominating process, by requiring the commission to submit eight names (rather than at least three) to the governor for possible appointment and by limiting the role of the bar in selecting attorney commission members.

Although Chief Justice Castille requested in early May that Governor Corbett hold off making any judicial appointments until 2013 for budget reasons, Corbett announced six nominees for county and municipal court vacancies. Several days earlier, the governor had nominated his chief of staff to another judicial vacancy.

In the coming weeks, we will release two major publications. The first is Cornerstones of State Judicial Selection: Laying the Foundation for Quality Court Systems and Judges. This report begins by describing desired attributes of court systems and…

In Michigan, where three of the seven seats on the state supreme court are on the ballot in November, there is much attention focused on its Judicial Selection Task Force's recent recommendations. IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis and Chief Justice Ruth McGregor (Ret. – AZ), Chair of the O'Connor Advisory Committee to the Quality Judges Initiative, testified before this group and participated in a public forum last year.

In May, IAALS hosted the Udall-Bennet Federal Judicial Screening Committee, which was charged with interviewing applicants for an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and recommending highly qualified candidates to the senators. IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis and Denver attorney Hal Haddon served as co-chairs of the bipartisan, 11-member advisory committee.

In the sole supreme court race this fall, both the incumbent and the challenger have qualified for public financing, but a super PAC known as N.C. Judicial Coalition has formed to support the incumbent. The election will determine whether the 4-3 balance on the court will tilt in favor of conservative or liberal justices.