News & Updates

A recent blog post, penned by former Judge Steven I. Platt, argues for implementing a short, summary, and expedited civil jury trial process in Maryland. There continues to be great interest in these programs, which generally involve a simplified pretrial process and a shortened, expedited trial, and multiple jurisdictions around the country are considering implementing them. As these programs continue to grow in popularity, we recommend several resources.

A Republican legislator called for an investigation into whether three supreme court justices violated state election law in using court employees to help file their retention candidacy paperwork. The justices learned on the day of the deadline that their financial disclosure forms were incomplete and called a court recess to finalize their submissions.

Last week, IAALS and our project partner HiiL cohosted a series of virtual Justice Data Lab meetings with our US Justice Needs Advisory Committee and a few additional partners. In August launched the individual survey of legal problems, receiving responses from 10,000 individuals from across the United States, and we are now analyzing the data.

Legal Aid Ontario, which promotes access to justice for low-income individuals, recently created programs that provide services to couples wishing to divorce as long as one individual makes less than $18,000 and the other does not make more than $50,000. If couples qualify, the program provides "a whole different avenue that people can now access to resolve their family law problems."

The senate voted unanimously to replace the existing judicial disciplinary body—the court on the judiciary—with a new entity known as the board of judicial conduct. The state bar and the supreme court would no longer have a role in selecting members of the disciplinary body, and greater transparency in its work would be required.

As I’ve learned from many years practicing and advocating for innovative design changes in legal education, teaching online does not and should not involve doing what professors have always done—lecturing, leading discussions, and delivering exams—just through internet-enabled platforms. Instead, law professors should implement design principles to their courses for delivery in any modality: classroom, online, or blended.

The call for cooperation in legal disputes is on its way to being enshrined within the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in a more meaningful way. Several years ago, the Sedona Conference®’s Cooperation Proclamation called for greater cooperation between litigants in dealing with discovery matters. The idea calls for attorneys not to compromise their duty to be zealous advocates, but to strive for balance with their other duty as an officer of the court.

Governor Corbett attracted criticism with his first judicial appointment since taking office, choosing his close friend and chief of staff without consulting court officials and lawmakers as is the custom. The appointment requires senate confirmation.

This comment was submitted to the State Bar of California in support of the proposed Paraprofessional Program, which would authorize paraprofessionals to provide legal advice in areas such as family, consumer debt, landlord/tenant, employment/income, and collateral criminal cases, as well as represent parties in court (excluding jury trials).

Discovery in litigation can be complicated and expensive, and electronic discovery is no exception. The preservation and production of electronically stored information presents ample opportunities for complication and expense. To provide education for judges tackling these issues, IAALS and the National Judicial College will co-host a webcast on February 18, 2015, at no cost for state court judges.

The state Republican Party moved for a preliminary injunction against enforcing a law barring political parties from endorsing, contributing to, or making expenditures on behalf of nonpartisan judicial candidates. Lawyers for the state argued that the law promotes “a compelling interest in making sure its elected judiciary is fair and impartial.”

In July, IAALS continued the Redesigning Legal Speaker Series with a panel delving into alternative lawyer licensing programs, how they differ from the current bar exam, what some jurisdictions are already testing, and how these alternatives might impact the profession.

The Colorado Supreme Court has requested comments on proposed amendments to the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure. The changes are focused on improving access to the civil justice system by making pretrial case management more efficient, thereby decreasing cost and delay, without sacrificing justice. The proposals seek to take the best of Colorado’s Civil Access Pilot Project (CAPP) and implement them broadly for all civil cases across the state.

A state prosecutor announced that no charges would be filed against the three justices standing for retention in November. Governor Scott asked the state law enforcement agency to investigate whether the justices had violated state law in having court employees notarize campaign documents during working hours in order to meet a filing deadline, but according to the prosecutor, this cannot reasonably be described as furthering the justices’ campaigns.

The legal community has varying opinions on regulatory reform, with some supporting, some opposing, and many unaware. As people explore this topic, they often encounter several arguments against reform—countered here with data and insights from other industries.

In the last few weeks, legislators in two states have passed laws aimed at influencing upcoming supreme court decisions. In Kansas, trouble has brewed between the judiciary and the other two branches, stemming largely from state court decisions ordering the legislature to spend more on public education. Meanwhile, the Republican majority in the North Carolina legislature has instituted retention elections, in place of contested elections, for supreme court justices seeking additional terms.

Justice Michael Gableman recused himself from considering charges of ethical violations against fellow justice David Prosser, making him the fourth justice of the seven-member court to do so and leaving the court without a quorum to hear the case.

We at IAALS are among the many saddened by the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. We are honored that Justice O’Connor chose to partner with us to continue her work on judicial selection through IAALS, and we strive to carry on her legacy.

“Complicated,” “costly,” and “unobtainable” are words that Pope Francis wishes to eliminate from the common description of marriage annulments within the Catholic Church. The pope has issued a new law that sets out a number of changes designed to…

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.