Category Archives: judicial elections
“Dems win all 3 open seats on Pennsylvania Supreme Court, lock in majority for a decade”
AP: “Democrats have won all three open seats on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court. The victory secures them a majority on the high court for at least a decade, after a campaign that drew a record $11.5 million in contributions.”
“Justice Kennedy Heed Justice Kennedy: Money Buys Influence”
I have written this oped for the National Law Journal. it begins:
Many people know of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s controversial 2010 Supreme Court opinion in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, in which he assured the American people that… Continue reading
“Outside Spending by Special Interests Floods Judicial Elections at Record Percentage, Report Finds”
Release:
Special-interest groups accounted for a record-high 29 percent of total spending in state judicial races in the 2013-14 election cycle, according to a new report by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Justice at… Continue reading
Regrets in Caperton
Billy Corriher on Twitter:
West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin at @UVALaw symposium: “I was tone deaf in not recusing myself in Caperton.”
“Of Judges and ‘Wannabes'”
Kate Berry at the Brennan Center:
Should all judicial candidates be treated equally? This question gripped the Ninth Circuit during en banc oral argument earlier this month in Wolfson v. Concannon.* Plaintiff Randolph Wolfson is an Arizona lawyer who ran… Continue reading
“Judges’ Elections Get New Scrutiny; Bronx district attorney’s nomination for state Supreme Court brings issue to the fore”
WSJ:
Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson’s quick transformation from a candidate for re-election to a nominee for state court justice—without a vote being cast—is raising questions about the clout that state election law gives to party leaders and… Continue reading
“In states with elected high court judges, a harder line on capital punishment”
Dan Levine and Kristina Cooke for Reuters:
A review of 2,102 state supreme court rulings on death penalty appeals from the 37 states that heard such cases over the past 15 years found a strong correlation between the results in… Continue reading
“Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice N. Patrick Crooks dies”
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. A centrist vote on a sharply divided partisan court.
Our condolences to his family.
Sixth Circuit Unanimously Rejects Challenge to Time Limits on Solicitations in Judicial Elections
The result in this case involving denial of a preliminary injunction follows the Supreme Court’s recent Williams-Yulee case and the new strict scrutiny standard set out there there. Judge Boggs was on the panel. Very interesting.
“Seventh Circuit Strikes Down Limited Voting for Indianapolis Judicial Races”
Ballot Access News:
On September 9, the Seventh Circuit agreed with the U.S. District Court that Indiana cannot provide for limited voting in partisan judicial races. The case is Common Cause Indiana v Individual Members of the Indiana Election Commission,… Continue reading
CA “Supreme Court affirms death penalty, rejecting ‘judicial election’ argument”
At the Lectern:
Among many other issues, the court rejects the defendant’s argument that he could not get a fair trial or appellate review because the superior court judge and the Supreme Court justices are all subject to judicial… Continue reading
“Judge dismisses Shirley Abrahamson suit to regain chief justice role”
Wisconsin Journal-Sentinel:
A federal judge on Friday dismissed Shirley Abrahamson’s lawsuit aimed at regaining her position as chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Abrahamson and five people who voted for her at her last election as chief justice… Continue reading
“David Prosser says he didn’t need to step aside in Scott Walker probe”
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser issued an opinion Wednesday saying he did not need to step aside from cases over an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker‘s campaign even though groups spent millions of dollars to support… Continue reading