New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Patricio M. Serna will retire August 31, 2012. He has served on the Court since 1996 and was elected by his colleagues to serve a two-year term as Chief Justice, from 2001 through 2002. Justice Serna has served on… MORE
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ordered a hearing for October 30, 2012 to consider comments submitted in response to select portions of the Minnesota Supreme Court Civil Justice Reform Task Force’s Final Report dated December 23, 2011 and its… MORE
Of the 14 applicants for a supreme court vacancy, the judicial nominating commission voted to interview nine, including three Democrats. This was the most Democrats to make it to the interview stage and could have provided the largest number of… MORE
A study of the sentencing practices of superior court judges suggests that their elections influence their behavior, with judges handing out stiffer sentences from the time they take the bench to their first election.
The plaintiff in a challenge to the constitutionality of the process for selecting the state's appellate judges asked two retired supreme court justices and a former federal judge to recuse themselves from a special five-member panel appointed by… MORE
Senator Durbin of Illinois formed a thirteen-member, bipartisan screening committee to recommend potential candidates to President Obama for three judicial vacancies in the Northern District. Before making final recommendations, Durbin plans to… MORE
A trial court judge who was removed from office on July 31 for ethics violations was one of the top-two vote getters in the August 7 primary election for her seat and will advance to the general election. According to the supreme court, her removal… MORE
Judge Jeremy Fogel is the founding Executive Director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute, a center at Berkeley Law School whose mission is to build bridges between judges and academics and to promote an ethical, resilient, and independent judiciary… MORE
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… MORE
A trial judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to remove three supreme court justices from the November retention ballot, ruling that the two Florida voters who filed the suit lack standing. With the assistance of the Southeast Legal Foundation, the… MORE