News & Updates

The court of appeals ruled that Clear the Bench Colorado is a political committee, rather than an issue committee, and thus is subject to contribution limits of $525 per contributor per election cycle. The group formed in 2009 to challenge the retention of four supreme court justices. 

A state bar task force is considering a variety of judicial election reforms, including creating a response committee to identify false statements made in judicial campaigns, providing a voter guide with information about judicial candidates, and encouraging candidates to sign a “fair campaign” pledge.

The house judiciary committee approved a bill establishing a public financing system for state supreme court elections.

Voters challenged a June 2012 ballot referendum calling for supreme court justices to be elected by district rather than statewide. The attorney for those challenging the measure asserts that the measure adds a requirement that supreme court justices live in the district from which they are elected and that legislators cannot alter such requirements by referendum.

At their state convention, Democrats endorsed three women for supreme court seats. One race is for an open seat, and Republican incumbents are standing for reelection in the other two. Party candidates will be officially nominated in September and run on nonpartisan ballots in November.

Thanks to a federal court ruling, abortion has become a major issue in the Democratic supreme court primary contest. The court ruled that pro-choice Personal PAC has a First Amendment right to create super PACs. In the wake of the decision, Personal PAC sent out mailers depicting one candidate as “Not Pro-Choice” and listing another candidate’s endorsements by pro-choice organizations. Four candidates are vying for the nomination.

Former chief justice Roy Moore won a three-way Republican primary race for the chief justice spot and will run against the Democratic nominee in November. Moore was removed from the supreme court in 2003 for defying a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments display from the state judicial building.

A Republican member of the house of representatives filed resolutions calling for the impeachment of the four sitting justices who joined the Varnum v. Brien decision, but no action has been taken. The other three justices who joined the unanimous ruling lost their retention bids in 2010.

The house judiciary committee is considering two bills that would move from partisan elections to merit selection with senate confirmation for the state’s three appellate courts. Members of the judicial nominating commission would be appointed by the governor, legislative leaders, and civic  and other groups and would be diverse in political, geographic, gender, and ethnic backgrounds.

A recent survey shows that the state’s courts have become more diverse over the last five years, with women comprising one third of the bench and racial minorities making small gains as well. On the supreme court, white males are in the minority, with women in four of the seven seats and four justices of Asian descent.

A bill that would have expanded the governor’s authority over the state’s judicial nominating commissions stalled after disagreement between the house and senate over whether the governor’s proposed authority to remove and replace commission members at will should extend to appointees of past governors.

A proposal to establish seven-year renewable terms for judges, who now enjoy life tenure to age 70, received majority support in the house of representatives but did not get the three-fifths vote required for a constitutional amendment.

There are three supreme court seats up for election in November, one of which is an open seat. Though the parties do not officially nominate candidates until their conventions later this year, Democrats give non-binding nods to favorites at the spring convention.

The house of representatives voted to abolish the Kansas Commission on Judicial Performance and end the state’s judicial performance evaluation program. While House Democrats believe the program provides important information to voters about judges, Republicans questioned its impartiality since all evaluated judges have been recommended for retention.

The judicial nominating commission created last April by Governor Perdue held hearings in three cities to hear from the public about the qualities and characteristics judges should possess. The commission screens and recommends applicants for positions on the supreme court, court of appeals, and superior court.

The senate approved a proposed ballot measure that would raise the retirement age for judges from 70 to 75. A similar measure is stalled in the house.

Nevada Senator William J. Raggio died on February 23. Senator Raggio was a 2010 IAALS Transparent Courthouse® Award recipient, along with his fellow Nevadan former Assembly Speaker Barbara E. Buckley. IAALS chose Senator Raggio because of his extraordinary efforts to promote a judicial selection system in Nevada that would assure impartiality and accountability.

With no Democrats filing to run, the March Republican primary will determine the successor to Justice Thomas Woodall, who is not seeking reelection. The two candidates are a court of appeals judge and a circuit court judge, both of whom support partisan elections because they provide a cue to voters regarding a candidate’s philosophy.

The senate rejected a proposal supported by Governor Brownback that would have eliminated the judicial nominating commission's role in screening applicants for the state's court of appeals and given the senate a role in confirming appointments to this court.

A circuit court judge and former Republican is one of six candidates competing in the Democratic primary for a Cook County appellate court vacancy. With no Republican candidates, the Democratic primary will determine the winner of that seat and the other five Cook County appellate court seats.