Litigation

Wisc. League of Women Voters Issues Judicial Candidates Guide

Posted on February 02, 2009
   The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin has released its 2009 spring judicial candidate voters’ guide.  Please click this  link to check out the guide, which includes information on incumbent Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, and her challenger, Circuit Court Judge Randy R...

links for 2009-01-31

Posted on January 31, 2009
judgesonmerit.org » Sandra Day O?Connor: Merit Selection is the Way Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Shirley Abrahamson, Randy Koschnick target one another's pasts | Postcrescent.com | Appleton Post-Crescent State-Journal.com - Former candidates will seek judge post Guantanamo judge defies Obama - Los Angeles Times Crusading Fla...

links for 2009-01-30

Posted on January 30, 2009
Today?s Filing in Al-Marri v. Spagone | SCOTUSblog The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Judiciary Committee Sends Holder's Nomination to the Senate O'Connor's Advice Makes Sense for W.Va. - State Journal - STATEJOURNAL.com Sandra Day O'Connor: Where Judges Can Be Bought and Sold - Knowledge@W...

Respondents? Brief Filed for Caperton v. Massey

Posted on January 30, 2009
?Because he had no pecuniary interest in the outcome, Justice Benjamin was not constitutionally barred from participating in the [Caperton] decision…? Such was the argument of the respondents in Caperton v. Massey in their brief filed on January 28, 2009...

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Justice O?Connor Supports Merit Selection

Posted on January 30, 2009
?States should do away with judicial elections in order to restore independence to their courts,? urged former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O?Connor at a recent luncheon sponsored by her namesake College of Law at Arizona State University. Justice O’Connor noted that no other country besides the United States elects its judges and called the fact [...

Putting Judicial Independence to the Test

Posted on January 30, 2009
The Military Commissions Act of 2006 has been widely criticized for, among other reasons, not truly providing a fair and impartial tribunal before which detainees may be tried. Under the Bush Administration, there was widespread agreement that the judges who hear the trials of detainees at Guantanamo Bay should be independent, and not subject to [...

Judge Denies Obama?s Bid to Suspend Detainee?s Proceedings

Posted on January 30, 2009
The chief judge at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay has denied President Obama’s request for a moratorium in the prosecution of Abd al Rahim al Nashiri. Despite prosecutors’ and defense lawyers’ agreement to the delay, Army Col...

links for 2009-01-29

Posted on January 29, 2009
The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Three Superior Court Judges Up for Reappointment Building trust and respect for human rights Merit selection best for judges

links for 2009-01-28

Posted on January 28, 2009
Judge Felts faces judicial charges Mcall.com: Capitol Ideas with John L. Micek Blog 2 Pa. judges to plead guilty to public corruption | Associated Press | Times Leader Courts Need Help | New Hampshire Public Radio Immigration Reform: Yes we Can? - NAM Civil liberties for all - Las Vegas Sun W...

links for 2009-01-27

Posted on January 27, 2009
judgesonmerit.org » ?Merit is Better than Mudslinging? Judge Backs Firing of ?Not Male Enough? Employee Judicial Speculation - Jonathan Adler - Bench Memos on National Review Online The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Jones Day Hosts Women Afghan Lawyers and Judges Q and A: Baylor professor happy to win Supreme Court case on crack cocaine sentences If there [...

Wisconsin Legislators Pursue Campaign Reform

Posted on January 27, 2009
Three  legislators in Wisconsin, where Supreme Court elections have become more expensive and much nastier in recent years, are actively pushing campaign finance reform, an article in the Leader-Telegram reports. In response to the disturbing rise of third-party influence on judicial elections, the Issue Ad Disclosure Bill would  make special interest advertising more transparent to the public, by requiring groups running [...

USA Today: Liberties Protections Broke Down

Posted on January 27, 2009
USA Today conducted an investigation into the oversight of civil liberties at the federal level during the Bush administration. The three agencies under the most scrutiny were the Departments of Defense, State and Health and Human services.  According to the investigation, all three failed to meet a legal requirement  to appoint civil liberties protection officers...

Caperton Inspires Call for End to Pa. Elections

Posted on January 27, 2009
As Pennsylvania gets ready for a state Supreme Court election in November 2009, a Scranton Times-Tribune editorial has cited the Caperton v. Massey case, and the West Virginia election that led to it, as a reason that  ?Pennsylvania should switch to a system of merit selection appointments for appellate judges...

links for 2009-01-24

Posted on January 24, 2009
The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Senators Shuffle Membership on Judiciary Committee ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Obama Reverses Course On Military Prisons, Harsh Interrogations Obama Sides With Bush in Spy Case | Threat Level from Wired...

Caperton Judge Decries Politics in Courts

Posted on January 24, 2009
West Virginia Chief Justice Brent D. Benjamin, the judge at the center of the Caperton v. Massey recusal case, has told a TV program that “I don’t think that politics has any business in the administration of justice.” As reported in a Legal Newsline article, Benjamin further told “Decision Makers,” a West Virginia television news show: “Money and politics [...

links for 2009-01-23

Posted on January 23, 2009
Obama?s tentative plan for Guantanamo | SCOTUSblog Legal Profession Blog: Judge Not Political Punch: Torture, Gitmo, and the Treatment of Detainees: President Obama's Three Executive Orders for Thursday ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Obama Calls For Halt To Military Proceedings At Guantanamo SCENARIOS: Trying Guantanamo inmates after Guantanamo | Reuters toledoblade...

AJS Study Sheds New Light on Election Vs. Selection

Posted on January 23, 2009
A new survey commissioned by the American Judicature Society shows significant support for nonpartisan judicial appointments in Washington state, over the current election system. Of equal significance, the in-depth survey does much to explain contradictory poll findings on whether Americans prefer to elect judges or have them appointed...

New Turn in Ohio: No ?R? or ?D? on Judicial Ballots

Posted on January 23, 2009
In a story that we have followed here at Gavel Grab, the Ohio Supreme Court has changed course, and will continue to bar  judicial candidates from declaring their political party during general elections. The decision came less than a month after the state Supreme Court revised the Ohio Judicial Code of Conduct to allow party [...

Colorado Institute Joins JAS Campaign

Posted on January 23, 2009
Justice at Stake is delighted to welcome the Colorado Judicial Institute as a member of our national campaign partnership on behalf of fair, impartial courts. CJI is one of the nation’s leading citizen organizations working to help courts through education and advocacy...

links for 2009-01-22

Posted on January 22, 2009
judgesonmerit.org » Washington State Voters Think Merit Selection Sounds Good Where will Obama land on due process? | Davis Merritt | Kansas.com Ohio Supreme Court quietly reverses itself on political speech rule - Metro - cleveland.com Immigrants to get day in federal court / nwi...

Impeach Judge Bybee?

Posted on January 22, 2009
.  In Slate last week, Yale professor Bruce Ackerman called for the impeachment of federal appeals judge Jay Bybee.   The rationale would be to provide an opportunity for a legislative investigation of Bybee?s previous work as a Justice Department attorney, where he helped produce the “torture memos” that green-lighted conduct that included abuses of prisoners at [...

President Obama Moves Quickly to Close Guantanamo

Posted on January 22, 2009
In a move hailed as ?a civil liberties trifecta? by the ACLU and criticized by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) as a ?dangerous step,? President Barack Obama today issued an Executive Order to close the detention facilities at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba...

links for 2009-01-17

Posted on January 17, 2009
Above the Law - A Legal Tabloid - News, Gossip, and Colorful Commentary on Law Firms and the Legal Profession - An Update on Sandra Day and 'Our Courts' The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Smiling Photos from Inside the Supreme Court Nancy Gertner: New Media Judge — Legal Blog Watch Intelligence wiretap power upheld | [...

links for 2009-01-16

Posted on January 16, 2009
Court expands judges? sentencing powers | SCOTUSblog Detainee?s release ordered | SCOTUSblog ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Top Bush Official Says Detainee Was Tortured NYTimes: FISA Court Oks Warrantless Wiretapping Law - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: New Report Slams Former DOJ Official For Politicized Hiring Congratulations Are In [...

Conyers Issues Report on ?Imperial Presidency?

Posted on January 15, 2009
On Tuesday, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) published a 487-page report entitled, “Reining in the Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the presidency of George W. Bush.” The tone of the report is perhaps best exemplified by its definition of the term ?Imperial Presidency?: ?Imperial Presidency? is a term used to embody a fervently [...

links for 2009-01-15

Posted on January 15, 2009
JURIST - Paper Chase: House Judiciary Committee chair urges probe into Bush administration absuses Law Blog - WSJ.com : Lippman to Follow Kaye as New York State Chief Judge Dorf on Law: Closing Gitmo and "Super-Terrorists" Law.com - Solicitor General Pick Has One Glaring Gap on Resume Civil Liberties Examiner: Former Guantanamo prosecutor, ACLU support detainee's bid for freedom The [...

Brennan Center Releases Judicial Diversity Report

Posted on January 14, 2009
   The Brennan Center for Justice has just released “Improving Judicial Diversity,” a report that closely inspects the judicial appointive systems of 10 states. The study reveals a disturbing lack of diversity on state benches, both in judicial selection and election systems, and offers ways to improve judicial nominating commissions to properly reflect our nation’s diverse citizenry...

Michigan Paper Calls for Judicial Appointments

Posted on January 14, 2009
?Michigan should seriously consider appointing its justices,?  a Grand Rapids Press editorial declared this week. Although Michigan’s Supreme Court election ballot is technically nonpartisan, the editorial notes that judges are nominated by the state’s political parties, often resulting in vicious partisan campaigns...

Post-Dispatch Lauds Judicial Appointment System

Posted on January 14, 2009
A St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial offers a ringing endorsement of how nonpartisan judicial nominating commissions have worked in that city.  The editorial, titled ”Advice for new judicial selection commissioners,” was prompted by the recent inclusion on Greene County’s judicial nominating commission of an avowed opponent of merit selection systems...

links for 2009-01-14

Posted on January 14, 2009
Judiciary: High Court Has New Face (Mississippi) "War" and Civil Liberties - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Rumsfeld Sued Over Guantanamo Suicides Truth Commissions and Prosecutions — Balkinization ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Advisers Say Obama To Move Quickly On Shuttering Military Prison Charleston Daily Mail - West Virginia [...

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