Zachary Willis Director of Communications Writing in the Des Moines Register , Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins expressed admiration for the work of the Court, gratitude for his tenure on the bench, and the desire to prevent political campaigns …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative The Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission has published its evaluation reports and recommendations online . The Commission was created by statute in 2008 and undertook midterm evaluations …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative The U.S. Senate voted to approve, by an 89-1 vote, Stephanie Rose as a U.S. district court judge. To date, President Obama has appointed 72 women to the federal bench, which is the most ever …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative The establishment of a PAC for a supreme court race may undermine the public financing program and reintroduce partisanship in judicial races, according to the court of appeals judge who is …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative According to a statewide poll, 47 percent of voters favor retaining the four justices standing for retention in November, while 24 percent oppose their retention and 25 percent are undecided. Poll …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that rejected a constitutional challenge to the state’s merit selection system . Opponents of the process argued that …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative The founders of Justice Not Politics, a 501(c)(4) organization formed to defend three justices against retention challenges in 2010, have established a 527 organization called Justice Not Politics …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative From three finalists named by the judicial nominating commission, Governor Daniels appointed county court judge Loretta Rush to the supreme court. This appointment leaves only two states (Idaho and …
Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern In a recent press release , The Justice at Stake Campaign (JAS) suggests changing spending patterns may indicate a new phase of judicial election spending. JAS reports campaign spending is expected to fall in states …
Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern Chief Judge David Sentelle of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia warns that the federal judiciary will be at risk if Congress cannot reach a budget deal to prevent the implementation of $600 …
Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern In a recent editorial, The New York Times argues the current judicial selection method of electing high state court judges makes the judiciary more susceptible to influence by campaign donors. Because a sizable percentage …
Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern This year, Albany Law Review's annual State Constitutional Commentary Symposium features articles from IAALS Advisory Committee Members. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Chief Justice Ruth McGregor contributed a short …
Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern A third of the Middle District of Pennsylvania's active court lies vacant due to the slow-moving process of judicial nominations. The Atlantic reports these vacancies significantly overburden the Middle District, …
Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern The Diane Rehm Show discusses how judicial elections and appointment processes impact fairness in state courts. Some critics argue elections create political biases which weaken judicial impartiality. These critics contend …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative At its fall convention, the state Democratic Party nominated three women to run for supreme court seats in November. Two of the three candidates are challenging incumbent justices, while the third …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative The Superior Court of Maricopa County, Arizona has prepared a short video that describes its process for selecting, evaluating, and retaining judges. Appellate courts and trial courts in the three …
Cindy Pham Former IAALS Intern On August 30th, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania introduced a new Pilot Program designed to expedite civil cases filed in that district. Modeled loosely on the Northern District of …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative Thirty-three percent of supreme, appellate, and superior court judges are women—an increase of eight percent since 2002 . This figure comes close to matching the percentage of Connecticut Bar …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative A group of retired supreme court judges took the lead in the campaign opposing Amendment 3 , a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the governor to name an additional member of the …
Malia Reddick Former Manager, Quality Judges Initiative The state Republican Party chair called for voters to remove one of four supreme court justices standing for retention in November. Justice David Wiggins participated in the 2009 unanimous ruling …
