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Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative Governor Cuomo’s  first appointments to the state’s appellate courts  reflect an emphasis on diversity. Of the seven appointments, one judge is Asian, two are black, and one is openly gay. There is …

Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative Critics of Justice Stephen David’s majority opinion in a 2011 Fourth Amendment case are challenging his bid for retention . The decision rejected the “Your home is your castle” doctrine as a defense …

Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative A grassroots organization known as Citizens for Judicial Integrity is campaigning against the retention of four Madison County judges. According to the CFJI website, the judges were elected with …

Alli Gerkman Former Senior Director This fall, judges are running in contestable elections in 32 states and standing in yes/no retention elections in 17 states. Judicial elections are typically low-information contests, where voters may cast their ballots …

Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative The state bar association launched a  website to give voters more information  about appellate judges standing for retention. The site explains the merit selection and retention system, provides bios …

Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative All eight candidates for the state’s appellate courts  qualified for public financing , with supreme court candidates receiving $240,100 each and court of appeals candidates receiving $164,400. At …

Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative According to a recent poll,  70 percent of voters favor a proposed constitutional amendment  that gives the legislature the authority to require that judges contribute more toward their pensions and …

Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative Questions were raised as to whether an email from a state employee advocating the retention of the appellate judges on the November ballot violated an anti-electioneering ethics rule. The email was …

Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative A recent poll shows that  49 percent of voters plan to vote to retain  Justice David Wiggins in November, while 41 percent will vote to remove him. In 2009, Wiggins joined a unanimous supreme court …

Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern With North Carolina's election day looming near, The Charlotte Observer has featured two contrasting opinion pieces, each advocating for the appointment or election of North Carolina judges. Arguing  for the appointment of …

Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern The Denver Bar Association's October edition of The Docket features a brief history of the American legal education system and mentions Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers ' current efforts "to advance legal education and raise …

Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern The Iowa Supreme Court finds itself  battling to maintain a fair and independent judiciary  as a group of Iowans, now backed by the state's Republican party, intensify their campaign for the removal of Justice David Wiggins …

Zachary Willis Director of Communications Based on Colorado’s Know Your Judge PSA—a collaboration between IAALS, the Colorado Bar Association, the Colorado Judicial Institute, and the League of Women Voters of Colorado Education Fund—the North Carolina …

Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern Professor Mary Lynch of Albany Law School recently reviewed IAALS' three-day Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers (ETL) Conference on her Best Practices for Legal Education blog . She wrote that the "energy, ideas and information …

Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern In Sanders County Republican Committee v. Bullock , the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Montana law that restricted political parties from endorsing or contributing to  judicial campaigns. The Ninth Circuit …

Janice Davidson Former Senior Advisor, Honoring Families Initiative We all were there with the same objective: to achieve increased access, trust, and confidence in the courts through significant reduction in costs and delay in civil cases. All of us, in …

Zachary Willis Director of Communications IAALS was very sad to learn that U.S. District Judge Mark R. Kravitz passed away on Sunday , September 30, after battling Lou Gehrig's disease for over a year. Just last year, Judge Kravitz was the recipient of …

Zachary Willis Director of Communications Dan Ritchie, IAALS board member and founder and former University of Denver chancellor, is often credited with bringing DU to the national stage of academia. And, as noted by the Denver Post , he can be credited …

Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern NPR recently interviewed  IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis about the impact anti-retention campaigns - such as the one launched against Iowa Justice David Wiggins - has on the judiciary.  Kourlis said efforts by …

Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative A group known as the Oklahoma Civil Justice Council released  ratings of supreme court justices  based on how they have ruled in civil liability cases. The group is backed by the State Chamber, whose …