Litigation

Post: Iowa Election at ?Center Stage? in Gay Marriage Fight

Posted on August 27, 2010
Iowa’s “normally low-key” retention election for three state Surpeme Court justices “has suddenly taken center stage in the national fight over same-sex marriage,” according to a Washington Post front-page article today. With three justices facing an ouster campaign for taking part in a unanimous ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa, the article probes whether the [...

Brandenburg: ?Revolution? in Court Elections

Posted on August 24, 2010
“The last 10 years have brought a revolution in the election of state Supreme Court judges. Special-interest cash has become king. Most Americans fear that justice is for sale,” says Bert Brandenburg, executive director of Justice at Stake, says in a commentary at the American Constitution Society blog...

Post, Free Press Cite ?New Politics? Report

Posted on August 23, 2010
The first comprehensive national study of spending on judicial elections in the 2000-2009 decade continues to be cited. Today, major editorials in The Washington Post and Detroit Free Press cited “The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2000-2009: Decade of Change...

Commentary Continues on Prop. 8

Posted on August 19, 2010
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ intervention this week in the Proposition 8 case has triggered a wave of commentary, and of speculation about what the court’s action means for same-sex marriage in California. The appellate court imposed a stay on a ruling by District Judge Vaughn Walker, who had declared that  Proposition 8 violated the [...

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2 Radio Shows on ?New Politics? Report

Posted on August 17, 2010
Early today, Adam Skaggs of the Brennan Center for Justice spoke on the Takeaway program about “The New Politics of Judicial Elections, 2000-2009: Decade of Change.” Click here to listen. Bert Brandenburg of Justice at Stake appeared in a very interesting hour-long discussion at ”On Point,” a public radio program at WBUR-FM...

Editorial: ?Bring Gavel Down on Judicial Elections?

Posted on August 16, 2010
The Toledo Blade editorial board has reacted to new rules for judicial campaigns, issued by the Ohio Supreme Court, with a plea to end judicial elections. The state Supreme Court revised the rules to permit judicial candidates to advertise their political party affiliations and to allow candidates to directly solicit campaign contributions in certain circumstances [...

Reprimand for TX Judge Stands

Posted on August 16, 2010
The Texas Supreme Court has declined to throw out a reprimand of Judge Sharon Keller over her handling of a last-minute death row appeal. In July, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct gave Judge Sharon Keller a ?public warning,? one of its less severe sanctions, and said she engaged in ?willful or persistent conduct that [...

Prop 8 Decision Headed to Supreme Court Early?

Posted on August 16, 2010
The fiercely controversial ruling by a San Francisco judge who overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban could end up at the nation’s highest court sooner than many had expected. A New York Times article laid out that possible scenario if proponents of the ban unsuccessfully seek a stay of Judge Vaughn R...

Blogger Convicted in Threats on Judges

Posted on August 16, 2010
Internet radio host and blogger Harold Turner was convicted in his third trial of threatening the lives of three federal appeals court judges. His two prior trials had ended in deadlock. Turner was tried in a Brooklyn court for a statement posted on his blog, saying that the federal district judges who upheld a Chicago [...

WI Disclosure Rule is Enjoined

Posted on August 16, 2010
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has voted 4-3 to freeze a state rule requiring new disclosure for groups airing certain political ads and messages shortly before an election. A number of groups have sued to challenge the new disclosure rules, in different courts...

Report Asks: Is Justice for Sale?

Posted on August 16, 2010
The first-ever decade overview of spending on state court races reveals an explosion of special-interest money. In a foreword to the report, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor warns of a “crisis of confidence’ in elected courts. News media across the nation immediately gave widespread attention to the report, which was authored by Justice at Stake, the [...

Presidential Hopefuls Wade Into IA Ouster Debate

Posted on August 13, 2010
Two Republicans who are potential presidential candidates have waded into Iowa’s  debate on efforts to unseat three state Supreme Court justices over the court’s legalizing same-sex marriage (see Gavel Grab posts). Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (photo at right) called it appropriate for voters to oust the judges over the controversial ruling, while Minnesota Gov...

Judge Puts Gay Marriages on Short Hold

Posted on August 12, 2010
Federal Judge Vaughn R. Walker has agreed to give sponsors of California’s same-sex marriage ban until Aug. 18 to  appeal to a federal appeals court his ruling that struck down the ban. Judge Walker  lifted his earlier stay of his decision, prompting euphoria in San Francisco, the New York Times reported, yet he put off [...

New Group to Defend IA Courts

Posted on August 12, 2010
With campaigns emerging to unseat three Iowa Supreme Court justices in retention elections this fall, a new group has formed to defend Iowa’s court system. The non-profit, bipartisan group is called Iowans for Fair & Impartial Courts, according to a Mason City Globe Gazette article...

Butler Nomination Returned to White House

Posted on August 12, 2010
For the second time, the Senate has sent President Obama’s nomination of former Wisconsin Justice Louis L. Butler Jr. for a federal judgeship back to the White House. The Senate Judiciary Committee has twice approved Justice Butler’s nomination and sent it to the full Senate, only to see a confirmation vote there delayed by “fractious [...

New WI Disclosure Rules on Hold

Posted on August 12, 2010
Wisconsin will hold off implementing key parts of new political disclosure rules for now, as litigation challenging the rules proceeds. On Wednesday, a federal judge declined to enjoin enforcement of the new disclosure rules on independent advertising, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article...

OH Court Revises Judicial Campaign Rules

Posted on August 12, 2010
The Ohio Supreme Court has revised rules for judicial campaigns in order to comply with a recent federal appeals court decision that struck down restrictions in neighboring Kentucky. In a press release, the Ohio Supreme Court announced a revised rule permitting judicial candidates to advertise their political party affiliations, while saying they “should consider the [...

New Judicial Ouster Group Named in Iowa

Posted on August 11, 2010
Former Republican candidate for governor Bob Vander Plaats today that “Iowa for Freedom” is the name of the group he will lead to push for the ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices in retention elections this fall. Vander Plaats criticized the state high court for its ruling last year that legalized same-sex marriage, according [...

Proposal Aired for ?Justice Index?

Posted on August 11, 2010
Why not statistically assess our local criminal courts much as we do for hospitals and schools? In a New York Times commentary, Amy Bach makes that suggestion, calling for a “justice index” to show how the key features of our local courts are working, or not...

Republican McConnell Urged ?Rise Above Partisanship?

Posted on August 11, 2010
Shortly after Solicitor General Elena Kagan was nominated to the Supreme Court, observers highlighted a book review article she wrote years earlier depicting the confirmation process as a “vapid and hollow charade.” It turns out Kagan, who recently won confirmation to the high court, wasn’t the only player who had penned an old article that [...

Judicial Gender Diversity Gains High in South

Posted on August 11, 2010
Across the country, 20 women now are serving as chief justices of state Supreme Courts, more than ever before in U.S. history. And the trend appears prevalent in the South, where women serve as chief justice in eight of 13 states, more than in any other region, according to an article in ABA Journal...

ABA Urges Marriage Equality for Gays, Lesbians

Posted on August 11, 2010
The American Bar Association has voted in support of a resolution urging state legislatures to permit marriages of same-sex couples. The ABA, meeting in San Francisco, cast its vote only days after a federal judge in the same city struck down California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriages, according to an Associated Press article...

Are Judicial Reform Proposals Ahead in Kansas?

Posted on August 11, 2010
Will the method used to select Kansas Supreme Court justices emerge as an issue, pushed by conservatives, in the upcoming gubernatorial election? An article in the Wichita Eagle suggests that may happen, although it’s not certain yet. U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Republican running for governor, has his eye on proposing changes but has not [...

Landmark Gitmo Trial Begins

Posted on August 10, 2010
Jury selection began today for the first war crimes trial held during the Obama administration, at Guantanamo Bay. The age of accused terror suspect Omar Khadr when captured–he was 15–has raised international outcries. The United Nation’s special representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, said, “Since World War II, no child has been prosecuted [...

Some Judicial Nominations Returned to Obama

Posted on August 10, 2010
The political clock is ticking for confirmation votes this year on a number of President Obama’s judicial nominees. The Senate, now on recess, has sent back to the White House five of the more contentious nominations including that of federal appeals nominee Goodwin Liu...

Massey, Others Weigh Fall Political Ads

Posted on August 10, 2010
Massey Energy is one of two large West Virginia coal companies that plan to buy advertising in fall congressional elections, while taking advantage of a Supreme Court ruling that would let them do so. Through a subsidiary, Massey owns the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia, the site of the worst mining disaster [...

Tea Party Groups Sue Over WI Rules

Posted on August 10, 2010
The line of groups queuing up to challenge new political disclosure requirements in Wisconsin is getting longer. The third lawsuit over the issue since new rules took effect Aug. 1 was lodged by Tea Party groups and other conservatives, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article...

House Resolution Would Condemn Judge Walker

Posted on August 10, 2010
The latest attack against federal Judge Vaughn R. Walker (photo at right) comes in a symbolic resolution inviting members of the House of Representatives to condemn the jurist. The resolution by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, follows Judge Walker’s ruling that declared the voter-approved Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriages unconstitutional (see Gavel Grab)...

Leahy Explores Substitute Supreme Court Justices

Posted on August 09, 2010
Is a change needed to allow a retired Supreme Court justices, like Sandra O’Connor or John Paul Stevens, to substitute on the high court? Sen. Patrick Leahy is interested in exploring that. Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is weighing legislation to permit this...

Supreme Court Case on Prop 8 Previewed?

Posted on August 09, 2010
It’s a measure of the spotlight on gay marriage that lawyers who won a landmark ruling from a San Francisco judge appeared on national TV talk shows Sunday. David Boies, who successfully challenged California’s ban on same-sex marriages before federal district Judge Vaughn R...

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