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News and Updates
The Obama administration’s efforts to diversify the federal judiciary continue. Nancy Torresen, the first female judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, was formally sworn into office on May 3, 2012. On May 7, 2012,… MORE
News and Updates
The newly minted Stanford Journal of Complex Litigation launches this Fall. The SJCL will cover topics like aggregate litigation, rules of civil procedure, mass torts, jurisdictional disputes, complex litigation reform, actions by private attorneys… MORE
Profile
James (Jim) Sandman is Chair of IAALS’ Board of Advisors and Chair of IAALS’s Executive Committee, and President Emeritus of the Legal Services Corporation, the largest funder of civil legal aid in the United States. Sandman was President of LSC… MORE
News and Updates
The senate approved a bill that would alter the process for nominating appellate judges. The judge member of the appellate judicial commission would be replaced by a gubernatorial appointee. The four commission members appointed by the governor… MORE
News and Updates
As of mid-April, the three supreme court justices standing for retention in November had each raised between $156,000 and $160,000 for their retention effort, most of which came from lawyers and law firms. Committees handle the justices’ campaign… MORE
News and Updates
In the context of retention opposition campaigns against three supreme court justices, the Florida Bar, the American Bar Association, and the League of Women Voters of Florida launched a “The Vote’s in Your Court” public education campaign. The… MORE
News and Updates
An effort to impose seven-year term limits on judges failed to pass the house and is dead for this legislative session. New Hampshire is one of three states where judges serve for life, or to a mandatory retirement age of 70.
News and Updates
Of the races on the ballot in the May Democratic primary elections, the two supreme court races are the most expensive so far, with the six candidates having spent $1.4 million. None of the Democratic candidates opted to participate in the state’s… MORE
News and Updates
The governor asked a judicial nominating commission to submit the name of more than one candidate for a district court judgeship for which only four attorneys applied. All four applicants—two Republicans and two Democrats—are also running for the… MORE
News and Updates
Despite an earlier agreement to move forward with Senate confirmation of judicial nominees, Senator Al Franken and others report that the process remains acrimonious. Nearly one in 10 seats on the federal bench are currently empty.