News
Federal
La. senator to stop blocking Obama nominees
February 1, 2010 :: Associated Press
U.S. Sen. David Vitter said Monday he'll stop delaying President Barack Obama's nominees to be federal prosecutors and judges in Louisiana.
Judicial nominees advance in Senate
January 28, 2010 :: Charlotte News & Observer
The nominations of North Carolina judges Albert Diaz and James Wynn overwhelmingly passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, putting them on track for confirmation by the full Senate.
House panel votes to proceed with impeaching judge
January 27, 2010 :: Associated Press
The House Judiciary Committee took another step Wednesday toward removing U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous from office, voting unanimously to recommend his impeachment.
Judge Thomas Porteous should be impeached, task force votes
January 21, 2010 :: Times-Picayune
A House task force voted 8 - 0 Thursday to recommend that Judge Thomas Porteous of the U.S. District Court in New Orleans be impeached.
Senate confirms Martin as federal appeals court judge in Atlanta
January 20, 2010 :: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday unanimously confirmed President Barack Obama's nominee, Beverly Martin, for a seat on the federal appeals court in Atlanta.
Bayh announces Indiana federal court nominees
January 18, 2010 :: Associated Press
Sen. Evan Bayh announced the nominees for three vacancies on the federal bench in Indiana on Monday, including Marion Superior Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt who could become the state's first black federal judge.
Slow going in Senate for DOJ, judicial nominees
January 5, 2010 :: National Law Journal
New leadership takes over this week in President Barack Obama's legal shop, and among the challenges facing incoming White House Counsel Robert Bauer is how to reinvigorate the administration's efforts to shape the federal judiciary.
Arizona
AZ lawmakers consider new system for judge picks
February 7, 2010 :: Associated Press
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O Connor has for years tried to convince states to adopt Arizona s system of selecting judges, which aims to remove politics from the judiciary.
California
Obama nominates Santa Clara County Judge Lucy Koh to federal bench
January 20, 2010 :: San Jose Mercury News
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Lucy H. Koh is poised to become the first Korean-American federal court judge in the country.
Colorado
AG Suthers may not back 3 on state Supreme Court
January 19, 2010 :: Denver Post
A Republican blog is reporting that Attorney General John Suthers won't support three of the four Colorado Supreme Court justices on the ballot in November.
District of Columbia
D.C. commission sends six superior court candidates to White House
February 2, 2010 :: Legal Times
The D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission announced on Monday that it had sent the White House the names of six candidates to fill two vacancies on the D.C. Superior Court.
Hawaii
Hawaii panel split on former U.S. Attorney’s judicial nomination
January 29, 2010 :: Main Justice
A Hawaii state Senate committee was unable to reach an agreement Thursday on whether a former Hawaii U.S. Attorney should be seated on a state court, The Honolulu Advertiser reported today.
Illinois
Legal groups offer information on judicial candidates
January 31, 2010 :: Daily Herald
The abbreviations of these Illinois legal associations may sound bewildering to the average voter.
Kansas
Abortion foes keep Kan. court fuss alive
January 24, 2010 :: Wichita Eagle
An anti-abortion group campaigning to unseat at least one Kansas Supreme Court justice also wants to change how new justices are selected.
Group to challenge court member
January 22, 2010 :: Associated Press
An anti-abortion group launched a campaign Friday to oust at least one Kansas Supreme Court justice in this year's election because of how the court has handled cases on the issue.
Michigan
Court refuses to remove 3 GOP justices from case
January 28, 2010 :: MPRN
The Michigan Supreme Court has refused to remove three Republican justices from hearing a case being argued by attorney Geoffrey Fieger.
Fieger case to test Michigan high court's disqualification rule
January 11, 2010 :: Detroit Free Press
Michigan's fractious Supreme Court faces a big decision early this year: Whether to vote -- for the first time -- to remove one or more of its own members from hearing a case because of that justice's alleged bias against an attorney.
Michigan Supreme Court: Direction reverses, divide remains
January 1, 2010 :: Associated Press
The Michigan Supreme Court underwent a major transformation in 2009, when a Democrat who defeated a Republican incumbent set in motion a series of rulings that favor injured people with damage claims and tighten judicial ethics.
Minnesota
Reform of judge retention process proposed to Legislature
January 13, 2010 :: Morrison County Record
The Minnesota Legislature may consider a proposal this year to change the way Minnesota judges are chosen and retained.
Mississippi
Qualifying begins for judicial elections
January 12, 2010 :: Hattiesburg American
Qualifying for the 2010 Mississippi judicial elections has begun, with several incumbent Pine Belt judges seeking re-election.
Nevada
No challengers; 2 Nevada justices get new terms
January 18, 2010 :: Las Vegas Sun
Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron Parraguirre and Justice James Hardesty will get second terms on the state's highest court.
Justices Parraguirre, Hardesty file for re-election
January 4, 2010 :: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Nevada Supreme Court Justices Ron Parraguirre and James Hardesty filed for re-election today, the first day of the filing period.
Nevada high court revises judicial conduct rules
January 1, 2010 :: Associated Press
The Nevada Supreme Court has approved revisions to the state code of judicial conduct, the first major update in nearly 20 years on how judges should behave.
Ohio
Reformers hope high court decision will kill judicial elections
February 1, 2010 :: National Law Journal
For years now, judicial reform groups have more or less resigned themselves to the reality that the public likes to elect its state judges and will fight any effort to appoint them instead.
Democrat to announce run for Ohio chief justice
February 1, 2010 :: Cleveland.com
Franklin County Probate Judge Eric Brown, a Democrat, will announce Tuesday that he will run for Ohio chief justice in the November election.
Debate wrestles with selecting judges by election or appointment
January 18, 2010 :: Marietta Times
An age-old debate over whether state supreme court judges should be elected or appointed is regaining attention as some state justices, the American Bar Association and the Ohio League of Women Voters are making a push this year for a change.
Pennsylvania
Governor's push for major reforms not abandoned
January 15, 2010 :: Times-Tribune
The week before Thanksgiving, Gov. Ed Rendell announced in Scranton a push for major reforms to the state's campaign finance law, the way judges are chosen and the process for drawing congressional and legislative district boundaries.
South Carolina
Smalls-Benjamin race 'got downright ugly'
February 4, 2010 :: The State
Gwendolyne Young Smalls of Columbia was elected by the General Assembly to the state's Family Court on Wednesday, ending a close, tense race that divided the typically tight Legislative Black Caucus.
Several judges re-elected
February 4, 2010 :: Post and Courier
Several Charleston area judges were elected to new terms Wednesday by the Legislature.
Lawsuit delays appointments of S.C. judges
February 1, 2010 :: Post and Courier
The League of Women Voters of South Carolina has weighed in on behalf of Family Court Judge F.P. Segars-Andrews' legal battle before the state Supreme Court.
Peeved judge’s lawsuit stalls judicial selection process in South Carolina
January 27, 2010 :: ABA Journal
A family court judge who was deemed unqualified by South Carolina s Judicial Merit Selection Commission has filed a lawsuit challenging legislators control of the screening body.
Judicial screenings put on hold
January 22, 2010 :: The State
The Senate Judiciary Committee has suspended all further screenings for judges, pending a South Carolina Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission.
Allies line up on judicial challenge
January 11, 2010 :: Post and Courier
Within a week, the speed with which the S.C. Supreme Court will deal with what has turned into a heavyweight challenge to the way judges are qualified in this state may well have been decided.
Texas
Three Democratic candidates make push for county judge's seat
January 3, 2010 :: El Paso Times
Three Democratic candidates are making a 60-day sprint to March 2 in the race to become the next El Paso County judge.
Utah
Senate Majority leader wants governor to pick chief justice
January 29, 2010 :: Salt Lake Tribune
For more than a century, the five justices of the Utah Supreme Court have decided among themselves who should lead the state's judiciary as chief justice.
Washington
Washington SC Justice Sanders faces challenge
February 5, 2010 :: LegalNewsline.com
Washington Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders faces a challenge this year from a Bainbridge, Wash., attorney.
Under the Dome
February 3, 2010 :: The Olympian
A House committee approved public financing for judicial elections Tuesday, the first time such a plan has cleared that first hurdle in Washington.
New chief justice of Wash. Supreme Court sworn in
January 11, 2010 :: Seattle Times
The Washington state Supreme Court has a new chief justice.
West Virginia
In W.Va., plans to reshape supreme court
January 14, 2010 :: Associated Press
Gov. Joe Manchin and the state Supreme Court hope to shore up public confidence in a West Virginia judicial system that has been scrutinized by the nation's highest court and branded a hellhole by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Manchin has two judicial reform bills
January 13, 2010 :: The West Virginia Record
Gov. Joe Manchin plans to introduce two pieces of legislation focusing on judicial reform during this year's legislative session.
Wisconsin
States weigh judicial recusals
January 26, 2010 :: Wall Street Journal
More states are responding to a longstanding concern that elected judges risk the appearance of bias when they hear cases involving their campaign contributors.
Court adopts new campaign donation rules
January 21, 2010 :: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
The state Supreme Court adopted rules Thursday that say campaign donations from people and groups with cases before the court are not, by themselves, enough to force judges off cases.
Sorting out Caperton in the Midwest
January 19, 2010 :: Am Law Daily
Wisconsin is about to join Michigan as the second state to sort out the thorny issue of recusal and judicial elections in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Caperton v. Massey last year, according to lawyers we spoke to today and this piece in the Milwaukee Journal...
Proposed order on judicial donations remains up for debate
January 18, 2010 :: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Forcing judges off cases because of campaign donations would impair the public's ability to participate in judicial elections, says a proposed order by the state Supreme Court that could be finalized Thursday.