A U.S. bankruptcy judge was rebuked by a disciplinary committee of the Federal Judicial Conference for his longtime membership in a country club that has no black or women voting members. The judge is retiring at the end of the year.
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As part of his plan to “overhaul” the federal government, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry proposed eighteen-year, staggered terms for supreme court justices and similarly limited terms for lower federal court judges.
A state court judge ruled that the governor must disclose the names of nominees submitted by the judicial selection commission. Unlike his predecessors, the governor had refused to make the names public because he feared it would deter attorneys from applying for judgeships if the names were disclosed.
Governor Gregoire appointed superior court judge Steven Gonzalez to the supreme court to fill the vacancy created by Justice Gerry Alexander’s retirement. Gonzalez is only the second Hispanic to serve on the supreme court.
A trial court judge was censured and suspended without pay for six months for living outside her district and misleading investigators about it. The constitution requires judges to live in the district in which they serve at the time of their selection and throughout their term.
Bypassing the intermediate appellate court, the supreme court agreed to review a trial court decision invalidating an increase in judges’ contributions to their health insurance and pensions. Governor Christie characterized this as a “manipulation of the judicial process” and referred to the justices as "unelected, unresponsive public servants" and "the exalted elite."
Supreme court presiding justice George C. Carlson, Jr. announced that he will not seek reelection in 2012. Carlson was first appointed to the bench in 2001 and won reelection in 2004.
Substantial contributions from trial lawyers to an intermediate appellate court candidate became an issue in the campaign. Republicans accused the Democratic recipient of the contributions of “putting justice for sale” when he accepted $300,000 from a trial lawyers PAC.
