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Post Frequency: 1.4/day Last Entry: November 20, 2009 at 18:08:06 Recent Entries: 447
By Justiceatstake.org
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Judge Bybee Sets up Legal Defense Fund
Posted on November 20, 2009A prominent federal appeals court judge has set up a legal defense fund. Judge Jay Bybee, who sits on a U.S. Court of Appeals in Nevada, had a role in legal opinions that justified the Bush administration’s harsh interrogation of detainees. Judge Bybee “quietly set up the fund last July following widespread news reports” that he [...
More Dueling Analysis on NY Terror Trials
Posted on November 20, 2009Both sides are continuing to exchange fire in the debate over Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to place five 9/11 co-defendants on trial in civilian courts in New York. Some leading newspapers, including USA Today and Washington Post, have featured rival viewpoints in the same day’s publication...
Wisc. Public Financing Bill Headed for Test?
Posted on November 20, 2009If Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle signs into law legislation for public financing of statewide judicial elections, could a lawsuit be on the horizon? That’s a possibility raised by a letter to Doyle from a group that opposes campaign finance restrictions, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in its All Politics Blog...
Column Labels W. VA Reforms ?Good Starting Point?
Posted on November 20, 2009Pointing out that public confidence in West Virginia’s judiciary has diminished in recent years, a column in the West Virginia State Journal praised the state’s Independent Commission on Judicial Reform’s cautious recommendations as “a good starting point” in restoring trust in the courts...
Critics Allege Racism in Wall Street Journal Headline
Posted on November 20, 2009A Wall Street Journal editorial critical of former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Louis B. Butler Jr., a nominee for the federal bench, has itself drawn censure for its headline labeling the African American jurist as “the White House Butler.” The strongest criticism came from Madison attorney Jon Axelrod, according to an article in the Milwaukee Journal [...
Friday Media Summary
Posted on November 20, 2009GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES/COURTS USA Today: Our view on prosecuting terror suspects: Unsettling choice for 9/11 trial has one big plus Editorial – November 20, 2009 Washington Post: Travesty in New York Charles Krauthammer – November 20, 2009 Washington Post: Holder’s reasonable decision Jim Comey and Jack Goldsmith – November 20, 2009 USA Today: Justice seems to have forgotten one crucial point: We’re at war Joshua [...
Journal Editorial Shows Lack of Merit
Posted on November 19, 2009From Bert Brandenburg, executive director of Justice at Stake, on today’s Wall Street Journal editorial, “The White House Butler”: In the course of nursing a serious grudge against former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler?who was recently nominated for a federal judgeship?the Wall Street Journal editorial board took its usual swipe at Justice at Stake for ?trying to [...
Senate Confirms Controversial Appeals Court Pick
Posted on November 19, 2009U.S. District Judge David Hamilton, President Obama’s first judicial pick after occupying the White House in January, won Senate confirmation to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday after a bruising and often partisan battle. The Senate voted 59 to 39 to confirm Judge Hamilton, portrayed by supporters as a moderate sitting in the heartland [...
Showdown Looming on State Secrecy?
Posted on November 19, 2009The White House and Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee may be headed for a showdown over legislation on the state secrets privilege, according to the Politics blog of Atlantic magazine. The Committee recently passed a measure that gives federal judges the power to a final say on whether assertion of the privilege is legitimate...
Web Site Highlights U.S. Appeals Court Cases
Posted on November 19, 2009A new Web site launched by the American Bar Association is aimed at helping the news media cover important cases in the nation’s appellate courts at a time the news industry is shrinking. Media Alerts on Federal Courts of Appeals, as the Web site is known, will feature cases selected and summarized by these cooperating law [...
Thursday Media Summary
Posted on November 19, 2009JUSTICE AT STAKE Wall Street Journal: The White House Butler November 19, 2009 GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES/COURTS NY Times: Holder Defends Decision to Use U.S. Court for 9/11 Trial Charlie Savage – November 18, 2009 Reuters: Obama suggests 9/11 suspect will get death penalty Jeremy Pelofsky and James Vicini – November 18, 2009 Bloomberg: Big Apple Justice Fits Man Accused of 9/11 Margaret Carlson – [...
Brandenburg on the Future of Recusal
Posted on November 19, 2009Two Midwest states have responded to the Supreme Court case Caperton v. Massey, but they are heading in “different directions,” suggests Bert Brandenburg, Executive Director of Justice at Stake Campaign, in “The Future of Recusal, A Tale of Two States...
Wednesday Media Summary
Posted on November 18, 2009GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES/COURTS ACLU: Senate Votes Down Amendment Obstructing Transfer Of Detainees To Federal Criminal Courts News Release – November 17, 2009 NY Post: Over half against terrorists’ trial in NYC CLEMENTE LISI – November 17, 2009 Main Justice: Holder Seeks Death Penalty For 9/11 Plotters That State Law Doesn’t Offer Ryan J...
Pa. Governor Touts Merit Selection of Appellate Judges
Posted on November 18, 2009Pennsylvania’s governor is urging an overhaul of the state’s “notoriously broken political process,” making one of his targets a shift to merit selection of appellate judges, according to a report by our friends at Judges on Merit, a blog co-sponsored by Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts...
Holder to Congress: ?We Need Not Cower?
Posted on November 18, 2009Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. firmly defended his decision to put five accused co-conspirators in the 2001 terror attacks on trial in civilian courts in New York. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he came under vehement attack from Republicans who disagreed...
Senate Votes to End Filibuster on Controversial Judge
Posted on November 17, 2009The U.S. Senate voted 70 to 29 today to cut off a Republican filibuster that had stalled a confirmation vote on the controversial judge who was President Obama’s first nominee for a federal court vacancy. Democrats needed 60 votes to end the filibuster; a simple majority vote to confirm the nominee was expected to take [...
Debate Rages over Trying Detainees in Civilian Court
Posted on November 17, 2009An emotional debate is intensifying over plans to use civilian courts in New York for trials of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four fellow defendants in the 2001 World Trade Tower attacks. Among the latest critics to speak out was New York Gov. David A. Paterson, a Democrat, quoted by The New York Times...
Editorial Applauds Michigan Recusal Rules
Posted on November 17, 2009A newspaper in Michigan’s capital is praising the recent adoption by the state Supreme Court of tougher rules to help prevent favored treatment for special interests that spend big campaign money to elect justices. The Lansing State Journal concluded in an editorial: “The majority justices have taken action to improve the rules, thereby enhancing the credibility of [...
PA Court?s Response to Scandal Wins Praise
Posted on November 17, 2009In light of the recent “kids for cash” scandal, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court faces a tough challenge in changing citizens’ low opinion of the judiciary. A Philadelphia Inquirer editorial described the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s refusal of a light sentence and plea bargain for the two former judges Mark Ciavarella (left) and Michael Conahan (right) as [...
Tuesday Media Summary
Posted on November 17, 2009GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES/COURTS NY Times: Paterson Calls Obama Wrong on 9/11 Trial Danny Hakim – November 16, 2009 Jurist: A Risk Worth Taking: Civilian Trials for Guantanamo Terror Suspects Lawrence Friedman and Victor Hansen – November 16, 2009 Bloomberg: New York Court Is Best Place for Worst Terrorists Ann Woolner – November 17, 2009 NY Daily News: Obama’s error by trial: Civilian justice [...
W. Va. Panel Urges Judicial Reforms
Posted on November 16, 2009Saying that public confidence in the court system has eroded, a judicial reform panel named by West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin has recommended a pilot public financing program for one state Supreme Court seat and “an experiment with merit selection” in initially appointing, rather than electing, judges to a new intermediate court of appeals that the [...
Strongly Divided Reaction To Terror Trial Plan
Posted on November 16, 2009The Obama administration’s decision to try five defendants in the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, in federal court in New York drew strongly divided reaction from politicians, editorial pages and even families of victims...
Monday Media Summary
Posted on November 16, 2009JUSTICE AT STAKE Justice At Stake: Statement on Nov. 13 Decision Involving Guantanamo Defendants November 13, 2009 GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES/COURTS Department Of Defense: Departments of Defense and Justice Announce Forum Decisions for Ten Guantanamo Bay Detainees News Release – November 13, 2009 NY Times: Accused 9/11 Mastermind to Face Civilian Trial in N...
Federal Court to Try Some Detainees
Posted on November 13, 2009In a significant shift, some Guantanamo detainees will be tried in a civilian court on terrorism charges, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has announced. But other detainees will contine to be tried in military commissions. To see a video of Holder’s press conference, click on the television image at right...
Coalition Urges Revival of Civil Liberties Panel
Posted on November 13, 2009A coalition of civil liberties groups is calling on President Obama to make a priority of nominating members to the “empty” Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. According to Deeplinks Blog of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, “it’s clear that there are important voices missing from the fray” as Congress wrestles with reforming the USA Patriot Act...
Caperton Loses 3rd Round in W.Va. High Court
Posted on November 13, 2009Although Hugh Caperton (photo at left) scored a landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory in his epic legal battle with Massey Energy, when the underlying dispute was sent back to West Virginia, Caperton lost for a third time in the state’s highest court...
Thursday Media Summary
Posted on November 12, 2009GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES/COURTS LA Times/AP: Gitmo detainee challenges judge who halted case Pete Yost – November 11, 2009 EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION/COURTS NY Times: American Sues F.B.I., Saying He Was Detained in Africa Scott Shane – November 10, 2009 Huffington Post: What Foul Deeds Lie Beneath the Cloak of National Security Judge H...
Showdown Coming on Judge Hamilton?
Posted on November 12, 2009Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has laid the procedural groundwork that could bring a showdown over President Obama’s nomination of Judge David Hamilton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. Reid, D-Nevada, filed a motion Tuesday seeking to cut off debate on the nomination, The Blog of Legal Times reported...
Panel Advises Dismissal of Gableman Complaint
Posted on November 12, 2009The Wisconsin Supreme Court should throw out an ethics complaint accusing one of its own, Justice Michael Gableman, of dishonesty in a TV campaign ad, a three-judge panel recommended today. The campaign ad attacking then-Justice Louis Butler Jr. did not violate Wisconsin’s Code of Judicial Conduct, the appellate judges wrote in a 37-page opinion, according to [...
Tuesday Media Summary
Posted on November 10, 2009WISCONSIN JUDICIAL ELECTION REFORM Marquette University Law Faculty Blog: Public Financing of Supreme Court Races: The Legislature Whacks A Mole Richard M. Esenberg – November 9, 2009 WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN RECUSAL Detroit News: Supreme Court recusal rules could cause problems Editorial – November 10, 2009 West Virginia Record: Wis...
First Obama Judicial Pick Faces Controversy
Posted on November 10, 2009When President Obama was preparing in March to name David F. Hamilton of Indiana as his first judicial nominee, Hamilton had bipartisan support from his home state senators. He was said by a senior administration official to serve “as a kind of a signal” of the kind of nominees Obama would pick...
Pa. Turnout: No Voter Faith in Judicial Elections?
Posted on November 10, 2009Our friends at Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts present a three-count indictment of Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court election in a compelling commentary, calling for merit selection of statewide appellate judges, in the Philadelphia Daily News...
Holder Backs Senate Version on Patriot Act Provisions
Posted on November 10, 2009U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has voiced support for a Senate version of legislation to extend three key provisions of the USA Patriot Act. Holder did not endorse a House version that goes further to revise the anti-terrorism law to curb federal government surveillance and seizure powers...
Justice at Stake Cited in Wisconsin Op-Ed
Posted on November 09, 2009Justice at Stake was cited in a commentary published in the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter that was critical of a Wisconsin Supreme Court action on proposed recusal rules. Andrea Kaminski, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Education Fund, criticized the court for rejecting proposed rules requiring judges to step aside from hearing [...
?Pitcher? Roberts Featured on Supreme Court Baseball Card
Posted on November 09, 2009The creator of the U.S. Supreme Court bobbleheads has turned to a new idea: baseball trading cards featuring Supreme Court justices. People who subscribe to the “unconventional law review” Green Bag have been issued the first card, depicting Chief Justice John Roberts Jr...
Judicial Nominations Pace Seen Lagging
Posted on November 09, 2009The slower pace of President Obama and the Democratically controlled Senate in federal judicial selection continues to draw attention. “Not enough progress has been made so far this year,” Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron writes in Huffington Post upon her group’s release of a report on judicial selection in Obama’s first 10 months...
State Secrets Affidavit Recalls Bush Years
Posted on November 09, 2009A Newsweek article digs into the legal papers filed by the Obama administration in hopes of throwing out a lawsuit over Bush-era warrantless wiretapping, and reports that the affidavit by Attorney General Eric Holder’s lawyers had some striking similarities to one filed during the Bush administration...
More News on Wisconsin Public Financing
Posted on November 06, 2009Wisconsin’s legislature has voted to curb the influence of special interest spending in state Supreme Court elections, passing a bill to provide more taxpayer funding for candidates’ campaigns. Both chambers of the legislature in the Badger State, where recent Supreme Court contests shattered spending records, voted Thursday in favor of the legislation...
Senate Allows US Court Trials for 9/11 Suspects
Posted on November 06, 2009After an emotional showdown, the U.S. Senate has defeated a bid to block civilian court trials for the accused masterminds of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., had proposed an amendment to cut off the purse-strings for civilian trials of Khalid Sheik Mohammed and five other accused plotters of the attacks...
House Panel Revises Anti-Terrorism Bill
Posted on November 06, 2009The U.S. House of Representatives will be asked to debate the proposed extension of key USA Patriot Act provisions with greater safeguards for citizens than are contained in a similar Senate version. The House Judiciary Committee, at odds with the Obama administration, voted 16-10 this week to send to the full House a bill that revises [...
Friday Media Summary
Posted on November 06, 2009WISCONSIN JUDICIAL ELECTION REFORM Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bill allowing taxpayer money for state Supreme Court races passes Patrick Marley – November 5, 2009 WKRG/AP: Wis. Senate OKs New Election Money For Justices November 5, 2009 MISSOURI PLAN CHALLENGE The Missourian: Missouri’s system for picking judges isn’t broken George Kennedy – November 5, 2009 PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT Courthouse News Service: High Court Considers Prosecutorial Immunity Nick Wilson CITIZEN UNITED Beyond [...
Michigan Toughens Recusal Rules
Posted on November 06, 2009Michigan’s Supreme Court, responding to potential ethical conflicts, has approved tough new rules that will help prevent favored treatment for special interests that spend heavily to elect justices on the high court. According to an Associated Press article, the court voted 4-3 Thursday to approve rules tougher than those required by the U...
Nominee Butler: ?Better Judge than Pol?
Posted on November 05, 2009Former Wisconsin Justice Louis Butler Jr. wins Gavel Grab’s “Quote of the Day” award for judges. Butler, nominated by President Obama to the federal bench in Wisconsin, was asked by a GOP senator at a confirmation hearing in Washington about his defeat in two elections for the state’s high court...
In Pa., More Women Elected to Bench
Posted on November 05, 2009After Judge Joan Orie Melvin won election Tuesday to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, she reflected about her year-long campaign, saying, “My pumps were all over Pennsylvania.” She was not alone among judge candidate sporting pumps. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that according to unofficial returns, six of seven victorious candidates were women...
Thursday Media Summary
Posted on November 05, 2009PROSECUTORIAL/JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT Christian Science Monitor: Supreme Court appears split on tackling rogue prosecutors Warren Richey – November 4, 2009 AP: Court worries about stifling prosecutors Jesse J. Holland – November 4, 2009 Wall Street Journal/Law Blog: Katyal v...
JAS Applauds ?Big Victory? for Wisc. Citizens
Posted on November 05, 2009Wisconsin’s legislature tonight passed public financing for statewide judicial elections, making it the third state in the nation to enact this reform to protect courts from special interest spending. Executive Director Bert Brandenburg pronounced the vote “a big victory for citizens who fear that money is tipping the scales of justice,” and he commended [...
?Beyond Gitmo? Detainees Plan Endorsed
Posted on November 05, 2009A new plan for handling cases of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, which would keep the U.S. safe while also respecting treaty obligations and constitutional principles, has received endorsement by 125 prominent Americans. They include former federal judges...
Wisc.: ?To the highest bidder??
Posted on November 05, 2009There is a continuing drumbeat of editorial commentary criticizing the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s new rules on judicial recusal. One of the latest, and sharpest, critiques comes from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. After highlighting the multimillion dollar totals spent on Supreme Court elections in the past three years, the editorial says it is uncertain whether Wisconsinites can be [...
JAS Board Member Nominated for US Appeals Bench
Posted on November 04, 2009President Obama has nominated Judge James Wynn Jr. of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, a member of the Justice at Stake Board of Directors, for a seat on the Richmond-based U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Obama also nominated Judge Albert Diaz of North Carolina for another 4th Circuit vacancy...
Fundraising Record in Mudslinging Pa. Race
Posted on November 04, 2009The sometimes ugly Pennsylvania Supreme Court race featured nasty attack ads and at least one new record for campaign fundraising, yet it elevated a judge who was vastly outspent and who said her message of “reform, transparency, and accountability” helped her prevail...
Judicature Society Applauds US Chamber Report
Posted on November 04, 2009The American Judicature Society, a leader in efforts to advance merit selection of judges, is applauding a recent report on judicial selection by the Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “AJS commends the Institute for Legal Reform’s efforts to create, maintain, and promote fair and effective commission-based appointment systems,” President Carole [...
Wisc. Allows Judicial Conduct that ?Tramples Our Rights?
Posted on November 04, 2009The Wisconsin Supreme Court, by rejecting proposed rules requiring judges to step aside from hearing cases involve large campaign contributors, failed to follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution, a Wisconsin activist writes...
Military, Civilian Trials Eyed for Detainees
Posted on November 04, 2009The Obama administration is preparing to start disclosing within the next two weeks names of terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay who will be tried in civilian courts, and others who will have trials by military commissions. The Political Punch blog of ABC News based its story on paperwork filed by military prosecutors at Guantanamo...
Controversial Justice of the Peace Quits Post
Posted on November 04, 2009A Louisiana justice of the peace who got nationwide attention after he refused to marry an interracial couple has resigned. “I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Paris, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009,” was the entire statement that Keith Bardwell gave the Louisiana secretary of state, [...
Wednesday Media Summary
Posted on November 04, 2009PA SUPREME COURT ELECTION Philadelphia Inquirer: Melvin wins Supreme Court race Amy Worden – November 4, 2009 Harrisburg Patriot-News: Melvin will become next justice Charles Thompson – November 04, 2009 Philadelphia Daily News: In court races, it looks like the GOP cashed in on the low turnout John Baer – November 4, 2009 WISCONSIN JUDICIAL REFORM FOX 6/AP: Public financing of Wis...
Justice at Stake Hails Wisc. Public Financing Vote
Posted on November 03, 2009Justice at Stake applauded a vote in the Wisconsin legislature Tuesday that advanced public financing for Supreme Court elections. “This is a major step forward in restoring public trust in the courts,” said Bert Brandenburg, executive director of the national judicial watchdog group...
Melvin Wins in Pa.; Spending Tops $3 Million Mark
Posted on November 03, 2009Election Update: Republican Joan Orie Melvin has defeated Democrat Jack Panella, by 53 to 47 percent. Click here for an early report on the election. Voters were choosing a winner today in the highly politicized, sometimes nasty Pennsylvania Supreme Court election, where spending topped more than $3 million...
?Citizens United:? Unleashing Corporate Billions?
Posted on November 03, 2009Just how much money could corporations directly pump into political spending if the U.S. Supreme Court, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, removes existing restrictions? If the high court lifts a federal ban on corporate political spending for campaigns to elect or defeat federal candidates, it “could unleash a flood of money into the political [...
Holder, Gates Oppose Limits on Detainee Trials
Posted on November 03, 2009Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Attorney General Eric Holder say they want to preserve the option of trying detainees held at Guantanamo Bay by either military commissions or civilian courts. The top Obama administration officials voiced their preference in a letter dated Oct...
Editorial: Wisc. Recusal Rule is ?Disgrace?
Posted on November 03, 2009The editorials keep coming about Wisconsin’s Supreme Court and its rejection of proposed rules to require judges to step aside from hearing cases involving large campaign supporters. This time, the Journal Times of Racine deplores the justices’ action and their agreement to requests made by business interests that a judge’s taking campaign money never form the [...
Iowa Lawmaker Wants Justices Ousted
Posted on November 03, 2009State Rep. Rod Roberts of Iowa, part of a crowded field of Republicans seeking the GOP nomination for governor, says he backs the unseating of three state Supreme Court justices who will be the subject of retention votes in 2010. He is unhappy with their role in an April decision legalizing same-sex marriage...
Tuesday Media Summary
Posted on November 03, 2009PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURT ELECTION Harrisburg Patriot-News/AP: Supreme Court race tops Pa.’s 2009 election ballot November 2, 2009 Point Of Law: A most important election Tuesday: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Carter Wood – November 2, 2009 Harrisburg Patriot-News: More women than ever on Pa...
Illinois to Get Some Campaign Cash Caps?
Posted on November 02, 2009For the first time, Illinois is close to getting limits on campaign contributions. Legislation was sent to the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn after it was passed by the state Senate, almost nine months after then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich (photo at left) departed office under a campaign fund-raising cloud...
Dismissal Sought of Wiretap Suit
Posted on November 02, 2009The Obama administration, after adopting a higher bar for invoking the state secrecy privilege, has put the new policy into practice in asking asked a court to throw out a lawsuit over Bush-era warrantless wiretapping, an intelligence activity launched after the Sept...
Barbour?s First Black Judge Takes Oath
Posted on November 02, 2009Judge Malcolm Harrison has taken the oath of office as a Hinds County Circuit Court judge in Mississippi. He is the first African-American judge sworn in under Republican Gov. Haley Barbour, who had previously compiled a five-year record of appointing only white judges to the bench, according to an article in the Jackson Free Press...
New Detainee Commissions Are Criticized
Posted on October 30, 2009By signing into law a major defense authorization bill this week, President Obama put his personal stamp of endorsement on another US government effort to hold military-commission trials of some terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay. An article by the Christian Science Monitor News Service delves into the details of how the commissions are to work, [...
Watchdog Disappointed by Wisc. Recusal Decision
Posted on October 30, 2009The Wisconsin Supreme Court, by rejecting public calls for state judges to step aside in cases involving their donors and supporters, virtually invited well-heeled individuals and groups to engage in a campaign contribution free for all. That was the analysis of a prominent Wisconsin attorney following the state Supreme Court decision this week...
Pa. Race: ?Good Case for Appointment?
Posted on October 30, 2009It seems that disappointment in this year’s Pennsylvania Supreme Court race has become a recurring theme for some media analysts and commentators. Democratic Judge Jack Panella and Republican Judge Joan Orie Melvin are battling in a race that voters will decide next week...
Arizona?s McGregor on Keys to Merit Selection Success
Posted on October 30, 2009Former Arizona Chief Justice Ruth McGregor has highlighted four key components that help a merit system work well. This week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform commended Arizona’s merit selection process for picking judges as the nation’s best, and McGregor concurred...
Assassinated Italian Jurist is Honored
Posted on October 30, 2009Renowned Mafia fighter Giovanni Falcone, a judge who was assassinated in 1992, was honored at the Supreme Court in an event that drew several U.S. justices and senior administration officials. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. remarked that Falcone had “died in a very real struggle to protect the innocent and stop violence,” according to a post [...
Obama Signs New Military Commission Rules
Posted on October 29, 2009Congress has rewritten the rules for military commissions trying some terror suspects, and President Obama signed them into law Wednesday. His action effectively revives military trials at Guantanamo Bay. The new rules for military commissions provide detainees stronger legal rights, the Associated Press reported, and take the place of a system the Bush administration launched at [...
Column: Pa. Election and the ?Rule of Flaw?
Posted on October 29, 2009Gavel Grab’s clever headline-of-the-week award goes to the Philadelphia Daily News for this one above John Baer’s political column: “Judicial campaigning under the rule of flaw.” If news dispatches from the campaign trail for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court have you grinding your teeth, try a dose of the columnist’s satire...
National Impact from Wisc. Recusal Votes?
Posted on October 29, 2009The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s adoption of rules permitting judges to consider cases involving their campaign donors took the side of business interests and could have national impact. The potential widespread importance stems from the fact Wisconsin was one of the first states to weigh new rules for judicial recusal since the U...
Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Out Recusal Based on Big Money
Posted on October 29, 2009The Wisconsin Supreme Court Wednesday rejected public calls for state judges to recuse themselves in cases involving their donors and supporters. In a 4-3 vote, the Court adopted requests?pressed by two of the biggest-spending groups in Wisconsin politics?that no amount of campaign contributions or third-party support could ever form the sole basis for a [...
Big Business Group Lays Out Preferred Merit Selection Model
Posted on October 28, 2009One of the biggest players in American judicial politics is highlighting how merit selection of judges can advance its goals. The Institute for Legal Reform, an arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, today offered its support for a merit selection model it believes will promote accountability and quality while keeping judges insulated [...
Wisc. Justices Question Recusal Proposal
Posted on October 28, 2009A proposal requiring disqualification of a judge if he took $1,000 or more in campaign money from lawyers or parties in a case drew skepticism from several Wisconsin Supreme Court justices today. The high court’s agenda for its administrative hearing centered on proposals dealing with recusal rules for judges who received campaign donations from a party [...
Specter Backs ?Marriage Act? Repeal
Posted on October 28, 2009Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a former Republican turned Democrat, has switched from longtime support for the Defense of Marriage Act to calling for its repeal. The 1996 law defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Specter wrote a commentary that was published in the Huffington Post: “Connecticut, Iowa, and Massachusetts have already passed laws [...
Many ?Undecided? in Pa. Supreme Court Race
Posted on October 28, 2009The contest between two Superior Court judges for a vacant Pennsylvania Supreme Court seat is a dead heat, according to statewide polling reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Judge Joan Orie Melvin, a Republican, drew 22 percent and Judge Jack Panella, a Democrat drew 20 percent in the poll of 529 registered voters, the newspaper reported...
W. Va. Gets First African-American Federal Judge
Posted on October 28, 2009West Virginia is getting its first African-American judge on the federal bench. The U.S. Senate confirmed Kanawha Circuit Judge Irene C. Berger on a 96-0 vote, the Charleston Gazette reported. A state judge since 1994, she was praised by Sen. Robert C...
Wednesday Media Summary
Posted on October 28, 2009JUDICIAL SELECTION (ARIZONA) The Arizona Republic: Justice respectfully disagrees with Robb Andrew D. Hurwitz – October 27, 2009 JUDICIAL REFORM/RECUSAL (WISCONSIN) WUWM: Wisconsin Ponders Whether Big Donations Should Disqualify Judges (w/ AUDIO) Marge Pitrof – October 28, 2009 State Bar Of Wisconsin: Court to tackle recusal issue and other rules petitions Adam Korbitz and Alex De Grand – October 27, 2009 WAOW/AP: WMC says justices [...
Rep. Hastings Presses for Detainee Reform
Posted on October 27, 2009Congress ought not be “bogged down in a myopic obsession” about whether to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, but must debate constructive policy for fairness and security in dealing with future detainees, writes a lawmaker who has proposed his own plan...
Campaign Cash Issue Raised in Pa. Race
Posted on October 27, 2009A Pennsylvania Supreme Court candidate has suggested that campaign money from trial lawyers may have influenced her opponent in his record on the bench. The candidate raised the issue despite her getting smaller contributions from the same donors. Judge Joan Orie Melvin, a Republican, brought up the issue about her Democratic opponent, Judge Jack Panella, when [...
Nominations by Obama, Bush are Compared
Posted on October 27, 2009President Obama has nominated relatively few judicial nominees in his first nine months, and the delay in Senate action to fully confirm them also has been striking, according to a new study comparing the opening months of the Obama and Bush administrations...
Two Justices Debate Head-On in Arizona
Posted on October 27, 2009Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer offered differing views about the proper way to interpret the Constitution when they appeared jointly before an audience in Tucson, Arizona. They also got some laughs from the audience. Justice Scalia (photo at right) is adamant about interpreting the Constitution and Bill of Rights based solely on the words in [...
Tuesday Media Summary
Posted on October 27, 2009JUSTICE AT STAKE Justice at Stake to Testify on Wisconsin Reforms October 26, 2009 The Maneater: Petition scrutinizes Missouri Plan, judge selection Victoria Guida - Oct. 27, 2009 SUPREME COURT ELECTION (PENNSYLVANIA) Harrisburg Patriot-News/AP: Donations become issue in Pennsylvania Supreme Court race October 26, 2009 Allentown Morning Call/Capitol Times: Orie Melvin: “Pay to Play” In Rival Panella’s Courtroom...
New Detainee Case Headed to Supreme Court
Posted on October 26, 2009The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to decide whether a judge can order release into the United States of detainees wrongly held at Guantanamo. Now Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has “cleared the way for the filing in November” of a new Guantanamo Bay case, according to a post in SCOTUSblog...
Justice at Stake to Testify on Wisc. Reforms
Posted on October 26, 2009When the Wisconsin Supreme Court reviews the issue of when judges should recuse themselves from cases involving campaign supporters, it could benefit from a review commission to help it sort through tough questions and rival claims, Justice at Stake suggested today...
Book Review: Brandenburg Questions Judicial Election Defense
Posted on October 26, 2009A book review coauthored by Justice at Stake’s Executive Director, Bert Brandenburg, offers limited praise but more criticism for “In Defense of Judicial Elections,” just out by professors Chris W. Bonneau and Melinda Gann Hall. The review, coauthored by Rachel Paine Caufield, welcomes the book’s “beginning to address” some of the complicated issues at stake in [...
North Carolina Judicial Selection Debated
Posted on October 26, 2009In North Carolina, the first state with full public financing of appellate judicial elections, the state’s system will be debated Thursday at Elon University School of Law by Retired N.C. Justice James G. Exum Jr. and lawyer Wade E. Byrd, a past president of the N...
Patriot Reforms Urged to Protect Privacy
Posted on October 26, 2009As Congress debates extension of key provisions of the USA Patriot Act, an editorial in the Los Angeles Times warns that “Congress and the executive branch needlessly cut legal corners” in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and “It’s time to make amends...
Editorial: ?Cynical Outlook? in Pa. Court Election
Posted on October 26, 2009Newspapers in Pennsylvania are making endorsements in a closely contested race for the state Supreme Court, and one of them contends that the nature of the campaign debate is a strike against choosing judges by ballot. Supporters of the Republican and Democratic candidates are looking for votes based on the fact the winner will tip the [...
Monday Media Summary
Posted on October 26, 2009JUDICIAL ELECTIONS (PENNSYLVANIA) Philadelphia Inquirer: Best judicial choices Editorial – October 25, 2009 Wilkes-Barre Times Leader: Candidates for judge hope to restore government Sherry Long – October 23, 2009 Wilkes-Barre Times Leader: Third contender: William Amesbury Editorial – October 24, 2009 Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice: Shadow of Corruption Dave Janoski – October 25, 2009 Norristown Times Herald: Judicial candidates vying in unique election Carl Hessler Jr...
Wisc. High Court to Take Up Recusal Proposals
Posted on October 23, 2009The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hold an administrative hearing Wednesday on rival proposals dealing with recusal rules for judges who received campaign donations from a party or lawyer before the court. Wisconsin is one of the first states to grapple with setting new rules since a landmark U...
Final Push Sought on Wisconsin Public Financing
Posted on October 23, 2009Reform supporters stand on the brink “of winning the most significant campaign reform in Wisconsin in more than 30 years,” Wisconsin Democracy Campaign announces in an e-lert, but the group said it needs help in getting “impartial justice across the finish line...
Citizens United Article: ?Shareholder Protection Needed?
Posted on October 23, 2009If a Supreme Court decision in the potential blockbuster Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case is on the horizon, then Ciara Torres-Spelliscy already is looking beyond that as she urges greater protection for corporate shareholders, by rewriting U...
?Justice for Sale? a Topic in Pa. Judicial Debate
Posted on October 23, 2009When two candidates for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court faced off in their only debate, one of the hottest topics was the impact of hefty campaign contributions on public confidence in impartial courts. Republican Judge Joan Orie Melvin took the offensive, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report, and asked how impartial Democratic Judge Jack Panella could be [...
Controversy over TV Ad in Judicial Race
Posted on October 23, 2009In Monroe County, N.Y., a campaign ad suggesting a Republican candidate may be soft on defendants accused of DWI has stirred up controversy, as well as questions about breached judicial canons of conduct. Monroe Court Judge Brian McCarthy, a Democrat, and Republican John DeMarco, an Irondequoit town justice, are squaring off in the election for a 10-year [...
Friday Media Report
Posted on October 23, 2009SUPREME COURT ELECTION (PENNSYLVANIA) Judges On Merit: Supreme Court Candidates Face Off Shira Goodman – October 22, 2009 Philadelphia Inquirer: Candidates for Pa. Supreme Court debate Tom Infield – October 23, 3009 WHYY: Candidates vie to join PA Supreme Court (w/ AUDIO) Susan Phillips – October 22, 2009 CBS 3/AP: 2 Pa...
High Court Candidates Debate in Pa.
Posted on October 22, 2009Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts–a Justice at Stake partner–and several other groups sponsored a debate today between two candidates running for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Democrat Jack Panella and Republican Joan Orie Melvin. Another sponsor was the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania...
League Launches Judicial Diversity Campaign
Posted on October 22, 2009To kick off its campaign to promote judicial diversity, the League of Women Voters has held two major events, in the Midwest and in the eastern United States. The League’s “Safeguarding U.S. Democracy: Quest for a More Diverse Judiciary” project launched its campaign Oct...
Schwarzenegger: Judges Are to Blame
Posted on October 22, 2009It’s the judges who are to blame for California’s budget troubles, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says. “They are going absolutely crazy,” the governor was quoted by the Sacramento Bee as saying. “So we have to run a very serious conversation with the federal government, because they have to let us run the state...
Thursday Media Summary
Posted on October 22, 2009PATRIOT ACT REFORM Wired/Threat Level: House Considers Limiting Patriot Act Spy Powers David Kravets – October 21, 2009 LA Times: The Patriot Act: Does it actually work? October 21, 2009 Jurist: Reauthorization of expiring PATRIOT Act provisions necessary to stop terror plots Stewart Baker – October 21, 2009 Roll Call: Democrats Failing to End Bush-Era Abuses of Power Emily Berman – October 22, 2009 CITIZENS [...
Amid Controversy, Gableman Takes Part in Hearing
Posted on October 21, 2009Last year’s heated election contest for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat continued to spill over into the courtroom today, when Justice Michael Gableman heard oral arguments in a criminal appeal despite requests for him to step aside, and there was a related rift among the other six justices...
Uighurs Case Tests ?Wartime Balance of Power?
Posted on October 21, 2009The U.S. Supreme Court’s accepting an appeal in the case of Uighur detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, although they are not considered a threat, may clarify a “wartime balance of power.” That view came in an article by McClatchy Newspapers, one of several that discussed the high court’s action in the context of a clash between [...
New Limits Sought in House Patriot Bill
Posted on October 21, 2009Three liberal Democrats are pushing for the House of Representatives to take a different tack than the Senate in renewing provisions of the USA Patriot Act, by proposing new limits on government seizures and surveillance in fighting terrorism. The Obama administration is seeking to extend provisions for ?roving wiretap? court orders, for court orders to seize [...
An End to ?Kabuki Confirmations??
Posted on October 21, 2009To end the posturing and political gamesmanship, along with the lack of real substance, of a Supreme Court nomination hearing, how about electing our high court justices? Or perhaps letting professional litigators pose questions to the nominee at a hearing, with senators allowed a follow-up? Those are just a few of the provocative ideas floated in [...
Commentary: Gableman an ?Embarrassment?
Posted on October 20, 2009Wisconsin Justice Michael Gableman is in the middle of controversies involving an ethics complaint against him and a claim he is biased against criminal defendants and should recuse himself. Now a commentary published in a Wisconsin newspaper calls on him to “step aside” from criminal cases and cases involving his biggest campaign benefactor...
Removing Justice of the Peace Not Easy
Posted on October 20, 2009The Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry an interracial couple may seem out of step with the times and U.S. Supreme Court precedent, but there still is a rigorous procedure to follow if his critics want to dump him. Voters elect justices of the peace in Louisiana, according to a CNN story, and [...
Florida Judge Accepts Fine for Campaign Misconduct
Posted on October 20, 2009Judge Michelle Baker of Brevard County, Florida has agreed to accept a public reprimand and fine for improper conduct during her campaign last year. An investigative panel found Judge Baker to have violated canons of judicial conduct in a mailing critical of her 2008 opponent, incumbent Judge Oscar A...
High Court to Hear Uighur Detainees Case
Posted on October 20, 2009The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case asking whether federal courts can require the executive branch to release 17 detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, who come from the predominantly Muslim Uighur region in western China, into this country. Chinese Muslims face persecution at home...
Newspaper: Wisc. Needs Clear Recusal Standards
Posted on October 20, 2009A clear set of standards is overdue in Wisconsin for spelling out when judges who have received campaign money from an interested party should step aside in a case, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says in an editorial. The editorial declares: “It’s long past time for the Supreme Court to sharpen its recusal policy, telling jurists–from Supreme [...
Tuesday Media Summary
Posted on October 20, 2009MERIT SELECTION Judges On Merit: A Groundswell of Pennsylvania Voices Shira Goodman – October 18, 2009 GABLEMAN WISCONSIN Capital Times: Gableman’s an embarrassment — he should step down Ed Garvey – October 19, 2009 JUDICIAL ELECTION REFORM (WISCONSIN) Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/All Politics Blog: Lawton, Geske urge passage of “impartial justice” bill Lee Bergquist – October 19, 2009 Common Cause Wisconsin: Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices Bradley and Crooks; [...
Ouster Sought for Justice of the Peace
Posted on October 19, 2009It’s not every day that a governor and a U.S. senator call for the removal of a state justice of the peace, but that’s the latest news in an episode involving a Louisiana justice of the peace’s refusal to perform an interracial marriage...
Merit Selection Challenge Linked to Political Money
Posted on October 19, 2009The Kansas City Star has published an investigative story about influence-wielding by Rod Jetton, Republican and former Missouri House speaker, saying his business workings have drawn scrutiny from the FBI as it looks into “pay for play” allegations in Jefferson City...
?Dead Heat? Seen in Pennsylvania Race
Posted on October 19, 2009Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court is politically divided down the middle with three Republican justices, three Democrats and one vacancy. A contest to fill that lone seat is warming up and is ranked as a “dead heat” now, one pollster says...
Court Divided on Gableman Recusal?
Posted on October 19, 2009Are justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court divided over an ethics case accusing one of their own of lying in a campaign TV ad, and his conduct in that campaign? That appears to be the case, and the matter could come to a tipping point this week, writes the All Politics Blog of the Milwaukee Journal [...
Once-Suspended Judge Wins La. Supreme Court Seat
Posted on October 19, 2009The complete but as yet unofficial vote results from the Fourth District election for Louisiana Supreme Court give District Judge Marcus Clark a victory over Jimmy Faircloth, a lawyer and former executive counsel to Gov. Bobby Jindal. The Monroe News-Star reported that Judge Clark received 28,521 votes and Faircloth received 25,495...
Monday Media Summary
Posted on October 19, 2009SUPREME COURT ELECTION Alexandria Town Talk: Our view: Today’s vote to shape La.’s high court Editorial – October 17, 2009 KALB/AP: Clark Captures Louisiana Supreme Court Seat October 17, 2009 Monroe News-Star: Clark beats Faircloth Johnny Gunter – October 18, 2009 Philadelphia Daily News: Are you voting for Panella or Melvin? Who? For what? John Baer – October 19, 2009 Harrisburg Morning Call/Capitol Ideas: Tailgunner [...
Congress Sets Hearing on Judicial Recusals, Caperton
Posted on October 16, 2009On Tuesday, a panel of the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the impact of landmark Supreme Court case that drew national attention to issues of judicial campaign spending. The panel’s hearing is entitled, “Examining the State of Judicial Recusals after Caperton v...
Bybee Misconduct Complaint Rejected
Posted on October 16, 2009The Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has rejected a judicial misconduct complaint against Jay Bybee, the federal appellate judge who had a role in drafting the legal policies that permitted harsh interrogation of detainees. Bybee then was a member of the Bush administration...
Liberals Press Obama on Filling Judgeships
Posted on October 16, 2009Federal judicial nominations are in the news on numerous fronts, as the Obama administration gets some heat from liberal activists at the same time partisan tensions are emerging in the Senate. Some activists are criticizing Obama’s team for going too slowly on filling judicial posts, according to a Washington Post article...
Voters to Elect New Louisiana Justice
Posted on October 16, 2009Voters will go to the polls Saturday in Louisiana’s 4th District to elect a state Supreme Court justice. Judge Marcus Clark and lawyer James Faircloth are squaring off in the election. An article in the Monroe News-Star reports that the Judicial Campaign Oversight Campaign Committee chairman asked Faircloth to cease referring to a ruling by the [...
Friday Media Summary
Posted on October 16, 2009RECUSAL/CAPERTON Open Secrets/Capital Eye Blog: Capital Eye Opener: Michael Beckel - October 16, 2009 (THIRD ITEM) PATRIOT ACT REFORM Examiner: USA PATRIOT Act still has plenty of support, including Obama’s (Part 1) Thomas Deusser – October 15, 2009 Examiner: USA PATRIOT Act still has plenty of support, including Obama’s (Part 2) Thomas Deusser – October 15, 2009 SUPREME COURT ELECTIONS Monroe News-Star: Faircloth agrees to drop [...
Post Backs Military Commissions Bill
Posted on October 15, 2009Legislation in Congress to rewrite the rules for military commissions for trying some terror suspects is sound and would provide a legitimate alternative to bringing them to justice in federal courts, the Washington Post states in an editorial. A House-passed bill heading for a Senate vote “does a good job,” the Post wrote, “of ensuring fairness [...
Judge Keeps Gay Marriage Ban Suit Alive
Posted on October 15, 2009It appears more likely that a trial will begin in January involving a legal challenge to California’s Proposition 8, which voters adopted last year to restore a ban on gay marriage. A federal judge this week heard almost two hours of oral argument, then declined to toss out the constitutional challenge, the Los Angeles Times [...
Thursday Media Summary
Posted on October 15, 2009SUPREME COURT ELECTION (LOUISIANA) Central La. Politics: Kalb Interview of Louisiana Supreme Court candidate Jimmy Faircloth (VIDEO) October 14, 2009 JUDGES’ PAY (NEW YORK) New York Law Journal: Citing Lack of Raise, Lippman Boosts Judge Allowance to $10,000 Noeleen G...
Louisiana Judicial Election a ?Slimefest?
Posted on October 15, 2009If you’re interested in opinionated dispatches from the judicial “campaign flail,” there’s a commentary from BayouBuzz.com that does a good job in spotlighting some of the biggest problems with electing judges. John Maginnis writes the commentary, entitled “Louisiana Supreme Court Election: Political Rancor Wins,” about the state Supreme Court contest between District Judge Marcus Clark and [...
Nominee Could Make History in Washington State
Posted on October 15, 2009Rosanna Peterson, a law professor at Gonzaga University in Spokane, would become the first female judge on Eastern Washington’s U.S. District Court bench if her nomination by President Obama is confirmed by the Senate. A bipartisan committee recommended three finalists for the vacancy, according to an article in the Spokesman-Review...
links for 2009-07-10
Posted on July 10, 2009Proposal to appoint judges seen as hot issue – Las Vegas Sun Court survey shows cuts to services go well beyond Washington state – The Politics Blog – The Olympian – Olympia, Washington Conboy sworn in as NH Supreme Court justice – WCAX...
Massey Adds Twist to Recusal Debate
Posted on July 09, 2009Massey Energy Co., which was on the losing end of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Caperton v. Massey decision, is now pursuing its own potentially far-reaching constitional challenge to ruless governing when a judge must recuse himself from a case...
Not Ready to Import Judicial Elections
Posted on July 09, 2009Australia’s chief justice said that although his country can improve its process of judicial appointments, America should not be its role model, according to an article in an Australian publication. Robert French, high court chief justice, said that judicial elections, the model used in many U...
New Call for Bybee Impeachment
Posted on July 09, 2009A group called Velvet Revolution has urged Michigan Congressman John Conyers to initiate impeachment proceedings against federal judge Jay Bybee, according to a blurb in the Michigan Messenger. Citing Bybee’s role, while a member of the Bush administration, in drafting the legal policies that permitted harsh interrogation of detainees, the group said that “several Senators have stated publicly that Mr...
Sotomayor Hearings: Check Here for Updates
Posted on July 09, 2009Senate hearings begin Monday for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. You can get all-day Justice at Stake updates on Twitter, as well as periodic commentaries on Gavel Grab, Justice at Stake?s daily online journal. If you?re new to Twitter, this is an amazingly easy way to get brief hearing updates (all 140 characters or less)...
links for 2009-07-03
Posted on July 03, 2009Judge Puts Boies and Olson?s Prop. 8 Challenge on Fast Track to Trial – Law Blog – WSJ The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Holder Appoints Chief Immigration Judge Missourinet: Chief Justics is chief defender of the Missouri Plan Nine are candidates for state Supreme Court vacancy | ajc...
links for 2009-07-02
Posted on July 02, 2009Chief Justice takes aim at US system of judicial elections Recusal ruling reopens Massey lawsuit against West Virginia court – The Herald Dispatch that judgesonmerit.org » Electing Judges is Absurd The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Campaign Finance Case and the Vote on Sotomayor Judge Declines to Delay Enactment of Law Recognizing Gay Marriage – washingtonpost...
links for 2009-07-01
Posted on July 01, 2009Supreme Court draws line on Checkbook Justice « The Blackacre Journal judgesonmerit.org » One Dollar Is Too Much Thoughts on this Term and the Next | SCOTUSblog
links for 2009-06-30
Posted on June 30, 2009Prop. 8 under legal attack again (OneNewsNow.com) Why the Supreme Court Got It Wrong in the Massey case « Voir Dire
links for 2009-06-26
Posted on June 26, 2009Symmetry vs. entitlement. (12) – By Walter Dellinger, Linda Greenhouse, and Dahlia Lithwick – Slate Magazine US Attorney Conspired to Force Miss. Judge Off the Bench, Lawsuit Contends | ABA Journal – Law News Now judgesonmerit...
High Court Decision Prompts Recusal Review in Nevada
Posted on June 26, 2009The Las Vegas Review Journal reports that Nevada has ordered a commission studying Nevada’s court system to make recommendations on how the state should respond to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Caperton v. Massey. The commission was asked to set guidelines when a judge should recuse him or herself in cases involving major campaign supporters...
West Virginia Reform Commission
Posted on June 26, 2009Articles in the West Virginia Record and the Charleston Daily Mail reported on, and Wednesday June 17 and Thursday June 18 that a reform commission is being created in West Virginia, with former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O?Connor as the chairperson...
N.J. Radio Host Arrested for Threatening Judges
Posted on June 26, 2009A radio talk show host in New Jersey has been arrested on charges of levying death threats against three federal judges, the New York Times reports. Hal Turner, regarded by many as an anti-Semitic white supremacist, said that the three judges, William J...
links for 2009-06-25
Posted on June 25, 2009Albin gets panel's approval for lifetime tenure on N.J. Supreme Court | State | NewJerseyNewsroom.com — Your State. Your News. BROWNSVILLE VOICE – HOW TO DUPE THE SENATE WITH LOADED QUESTIONS IN FAVOR OF SOTOMAYOR – IF YOU ARE A LIBERAL Legal Profession Blog: Post-Caperton Judicial Education Nevada eyeing when judges can hear donors' cases – San Jose [...
links for 2009-06-24
Posted on June 24, 2009judgesonmerit.org » ?The Real Problem is the Election of Judges? Supreme Court justice drives into store – Breaking News – ReviewJournal.com Big money undercuts judicial credibility — chicagotribune.com Legal Profession Blog: New Rules For Ohio Judges Law...
Recusal Debate and the First Amendment
Posted on June 24, 2009Amanda Bronstad writes an article for the National Law Journal, titled “Stage Set for Litigation Over Judicial Recusal”. The aftermath continues for the Caperton v. Massey ruling as Bronstad discusses both sides of the recusal debate. She states that the Court’s ruling: “prompted the American Bar Association and several states to consider stricter rules to help [...
links for 2009-06-23
Posted on June 23, 2009National Journal Online — The Ninth Justice — Klobuchar Takes Aim At Sotomayor's Critics Keeping the judges honest | HeraldTribune.com | Sarasota Florida | Southwest Florida's Information Leader The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : ACS Panel: In Selecting State Judges, No System Is Perfect Judicial elections or appointments? You be the judge OP/ED: Judging the Judges « [...
Times Column Cites Brennan Panel, Sotomayor Debate
Posted on June 23, 2009In a column called “What Kind of Judges Do We Want,” law professor Stanley Fish dissects questions raised by the Sonia Sot0mayor nomination, including the role of “empathy” and personal background in judicial decision-making. The backdrop of the column is a panel hosted last week by the Brennan Center for Justice on judging, which is described [...
ACS Panel Debates Judicial Elections, Caperton
Posted on June 22, 2009As part of its annual conference, the American Constitution Society on Saturday held a panel discussion on how the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Caperton v. Massey will affect judicial elections. According to a Washington Legal Times blog, the panel debated the pros and cons of various options, unable to reach a single solution...
links for 2009-06-20
Posted on June 20, 2009Editorial: A question of integrity : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis THEIR VIEW: Judicial reform and public opinion in W.Va. | West Virginia Record Letter _Web version__ Selecting judges on merit best | The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.
links for 2009-06-19
Posted on June 19, 2009judgesonmerit.org » Caperton Matters to All of Us Judge lifts stay on Massey case against Supreme Court | West Virginia Record Charleston Daily Mail - West Virginia News and Sports - Editorials - Just politicians in judicial robes? Poll: 94% of New Jerseyans can't name a state Supreme Court Justice | Politicker NJ | New Jersey Politics News, [...
House Impeaches Federal Judge for Just 14th Time in History
Posted on June 19, 2009CNN reports that the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to impeach Fifth Circuit Judge Samuel Kent. Kent has been the target of an unusually fast impeachment process since his obstruction of justice conviction last May in a case involving allegations of sexual assault from two of Kent’s female staffers...
Why Caperton Matters to ?All of Us?
Posted on June 19, 2009Shira Goodman of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts writes a good entry at their “Choose Judges on Merit” blog on why the Caperton v. Massey case matters to average people. She expands on a Philadelphia Inquirer article by PMC Chair Bob Heim, which includes the following anecdote from Heim’s op-ed: Some years ago, I was told of a lawyer [...
House Measure to Halt Gitmo Closing Fails by Single Vote
Posted on June 19, 2009An amendment to the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill that would have barred the use of funds to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has been defeated by a single vote. The amendment, proposed by Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis of California, was voted down by a final tally of 212 yeas to 213 nays...
links for 2009-06-18
Posted on June 18, 2009Senator Once Denied a Judgeship Is Concerned About ?Empathy? Nominations | ABA Journal - Law News Now Sotomayor embracing affirmative action, then and now - Los Angeles Times It's Hard to Have Human Judges With No Biases - WSJ.com judgesonmerit...
Status Quo in Illinois
Posted on June 18, 2009The earthquake caused by the criminal prosecution and impeachment of Governor Rod Blagojevich has led to few significant reforms in Illinois, a New York Times article said this week. The title of the article is, “For Some in Illinois, Talk of Reform Was Just That...
Tennessee Bill Goes to Governor
Posted on June 18, 2009An article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal said that Tennessee’s governor is reviewing a measure that would retain an appointment system for state ’s Supreme Court and appellate judges, but modify the process to assuage some critics. Under the bill, the governor will continue to appoint judges, from slates of nominees submitted by a commission, and they will [...
Immigration-Court Backlogs Growing, Report Says
Posted on June 18, 2009The New York Times today reports on a recent study released by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) that finds a major backlog in the nation’s immigration courts. The report finds that, despite a 2006 Justice Department recommendation to hire more immigration judges, the courts have seen a 19 percent increase in backlogs and 23 percent [...
NY Times Cites Continuing Surveillance Threat
Posted on June 18, 2009The New York Times has published an editorial saying the U.S. government’s eavesdropping program continues to be too aggressive, and urged revisions in laws allowing anti-terrorism surveillance of U.S. citizens. Its conclusion: We do not believe that Mr...
links for 2009-06-17
Posted on June 17, 2009judgesonmerit.org » Philadephia Bar Association Calls for Merit Selection Big money and the courts: When should judges step aside? Ohio Judicial Campaign Contribution Conundrum | InjuryBoard Cincinnati Lincoln Walks At Midnight: More Fallout from SCOTUS' Benjamin Ruling (Updated) Governor Appoints Judicial Review Reform Commission - WOWK-TV - WOWKTV...
links for 2009-06-16
Posted on June 16, 2009The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports - News - Supreme Court appoints judge in rehearing of Massey case Shark and Shepherd: What Caperton ought not to mean Judges and justice should not be for sale - Carl Hiaasen - MiamiHerald.com A black mark for judicial election Necessary recusal | courier-journal...
Wisconsin Reforms Advance
Posted on June 16, 2009Two important reform bills moved ahead in Wisconsin today, when an Assembly committee endorsed public financing for state Supreme Court candidates and backed a bill that would force special interest groups to disclose their financial sources for any electioneering ads...
JAS, Brennan Center Quoted in CNN Report
Posted on June 15, 2009Bert Brandenburg, executive director of Justice at Stake, and Adam Skaggs of the Brennan Center for Justice both were quoted in a June 12 CNN report on whether justice is for sale, following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Caperton v. Massey. Brandenburg told the “Lou Dobbs Show”: In the end, we want judges to be [...
States React to Caperton
Posted on June 15, 2009Since the Caperton decision came down last week, the reaction from the states that have judicial elections, or may potentially have them, has been mixed. Starting in West Virginia, where legislative options are being studied to prevent a situation like Caperton from happening again, the reaction was positive...
40 Questions About Caperton v. Massey
Posted on June 15, 2009In his dissenting opinion in Caperton v. Massey, Chief Justice John Roberts posed 40 “fundamental questions” that he said the majority did not answer. At the blog Judicial Ethics Forum, Arizona attorney Keith Swisher, a specialist in legal ethics, takes a crack at answering them.
SCotUS Says Jury Not Required for Deportation in Felonies Exceeding $10k
Posted on June 15, 2009The Supreme Court ruled today that a jury is not required to determine the victim’s financial losses in cases involving the deportation of aliens convicted of fraud. Federal law mandates that a victim must suffer losses in excess of $10,000 in order for an alien convicted of fraud to be deportable...
links for 2009-06-13
Posted on June 13, 2009Wisconsin Law Journal - Bias ruling could bring recusals judgesonmerit.org » Pennsylvanians Are Talking About Merit Selection judgesonmerit.org » Patriot News: It?s Time For Merit Selection Editorial: Ruling should push Texas to reform judiciary | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Opinion: Editorials Legal Reform Groups Hail Supremes? Decision « Minnesotans for Impartial Courts Effect of Supreme [...
links for 2009-06-12
Posted on June 12, 2009Editorial: Court's ruling gives support to plan to change judicial elections | www.rgj.com | Reno Gazette-Journal When $3 Million Is Too Much | The FactCheck Wire SCOTUS' Caperton ruling could impact judges in Kansas ? Kansas Liberty Texans should heed Supreme Court ruling by reforming tainted selection system | Editorial | Chron...
links for 2009-06-11
Posted on June 11, 2009Dorf on Law: A Wise Latina Supreme Court ruling could help clean up our judicial system - BizTimes Judges and 'Bias' - WSJ.com Court: Judges Must Avoid Appearance Of Bias : NPR judgesonmerit.org » Thinking About Caperton in PA Missouri Judicial Selections get a Boost from Supreme Court : Personal Injury News and Developments Supreme Court won't clean up judicial races [...
More Caperton Media
Posted on June 11, 2009Leading off new articles on Caperton v. Massey is a very interesting Q&A of former Texas Chief Justice Tom Phillips, conducted by Tony Mauro, Supreme Court reporter for the Washington Legal Times. Phillips predicts that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Monday, which said that a West Virginia justice should have removed himself from a case involving [...
links for 2009-06-10
Posted on June 10, 2009U.S. Supreme Court Issues Important Recusal Decision : Alabama Appellate Watch The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Supreme Court Issues Landmark Ruling on Judicial Recusal Caperton and The Supreme Court?s Boundary-Enforcing Role — Balkinization Massey Coal Ruling Getting Thumbs Up in Judicial Circles - Law Blog - WSJ The Supreme Court talks about judicial bias...
links for 2009-06-09
Posted on June 09, 2009Court says judges must avoid appearance of bias - San Jose Mercury News The Indiana Law Blog: Ind. Courts - "Veto of done deal could yet be undone" South Bend Tribune: Veto of done deal could yet be undone Lawmakers pave way for vote on appointing judges - Las Vegas Sun State needs more Hispanic judges | ajc...
Great Editorial in New York Times
Posted on June 09, 2009A New York Times editorial, “Honest Justice,” weighed in on the Caperton v. Massey ruling, and had this to say: The majority?s recognition of the threat posed by outsize contributions amounts to a crucial statement that judges and justice are not for sale...
Caperton Media Review
Posted on June 09, 2009Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in Caperton v. Massey has caused an outpouring of national media. Here is a summary: New York Times: Justices Tell Judges Not to Rule on Major Backers By ADAM LIPTAK WASHINGTON ? Elected judges must disqualify themselves from cases involving people who spent exceptionally large sums to put them on the bench, the Supreme [...
In Memory of Judge Sandra Otaka
Posted on June 09, 2009Justice at Stake is saddened to lose one of its board members, Cook County Circuit Judge Sandra Otaka, who passed away June 6. She was a third-generation Japanese-American whose mother and grandparents were held in U.S. internment camps during World War II...
Key Quotes From Caperton Opinion
Posted on June 09, 2009Below are some key quotes and topics from yesterday’s opinion in Caperton v. Massey. The 5-4 opinion, written by Justice Kennedy, ruled that a West Virginia Supreme Court justice could not rule on a case involving a litigant who spent $3 million to elect him...
Caperton: First Reflections
Posted on June 08, 2009“This is a tremendous victory.” That statement, by Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg, captures the essence of today’s landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Caperton v. Massey. (To see Justice at Stake’s full press release, click here...
links for 2009-06-06
Posted on June 06, 2009Saint Louis Beacon - Opponents of Missouri court plan are gearing up for battle again Fayette's Judge Edwards nominated for state Supreme Court post | The Citizen Online Daily Herald | Reform advocates left disappointed after Blagojevich ouster Hamilton, Davis Get Thumbs-Up from Senate Judicary Committee - Law Blog - WSJ
links for 2009-06-05
Posted on June 05, 2009Challenges to NSA wiretapping shut down | SCOTUSblog Gingrich Takes Back Claim That Sotomayor Is ?Racist? (Update1) - Bloomberg.com Judge Tosses Suits Claiming Illegal Wiretaps by Telecoms | ABA Journal - Law News Now All judges will come with their baggage | News-Leader...
links for 2009-06-04
Posted on June 04, 2009At the Capitol, Judge Sotomayor Makes the Rounds - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com Reid Heaps Praise On Sotomayor | Political Hotsheet - CBS News Sonia Sotomayor Makes the Rounds on Capitol Hill - ABC News Legal Pad: A (Literal) Shakeup at the Supreme Court Building The Associated Press: Redemption from scandal? Ill...
Conservative Groups Pen Letter Calling for Filibuster
Posted on June 04, 2009A letter signed by dozens of conservative organizations has been distributed to Republican senators in hopes of lengthening the debate over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. The New York Times reports that the letter calls for a filibuster of President Obama’s nominee...
Washington Post Examines Interest Group Influence in Sotomayor Nomination
Posted on June 04, 2009An article in yesterday’s Washington Post examines the current state of interest group influence, highlighted by the differences between conservative and liberal interest group’s efforts with regard to President Obama’s Supreme Court pick...
links for 2009-06-03
Posted on June 03, 2009Burnam drops Keller impeachment resolution, for now | Postcards UnionLeader.com - New Hampshire news, business and sports - Lynch nominates long-time judge for state Supreme Court - Monday, Jun. 1, 2009
links for 2009-06-02
Posted on June 02, 2009judgesonmerit.org » Tennessee Sticking with Merit Selection The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Sotomayor to Begin Visits With Senators Tuesday Schumer: Sotomayor nearly 'filibuster-proof' — Newsday.com Sotomayor meets aides shepherding nomination Concurring Opinions » Defining Judicial Activism by Federal Appellate Judges Judge election turns into a horse race - Richard L...
Some GOP Leaders Urge More Respectful Tone
Posted on June 01, 2009While some conservative organizations and figures clamor to be the next to attack President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, senior GOP leaders are calling for a less disrespectful tone. The LA Times reports that Republican lawmakers like Texas Sen...
Nomination Puts Diversity Issues to Fore
Posted on June 01, 2009President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, has found herself in the middle of a national conversation regarding the role of race on the bench. Judge Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic to serve on the nation’s highest court...
Impeachment Starts Against Convicted Judge
Posted on June 01, 2009A House panel will formally begin impeachment proceedings against a disgraced federal judge who has pleaded guilty in a case involving his sexual assault of two staff members. Samuel B. Kent, a federal judge based in Houston, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison on obstruction of justice...
links for 2009-05-30
Posted on May 30, 2009Hatch says high court pick Sotomayor not racist, but may be judicial activist - Salt Lake Tribune judgesonmerit.org » Talking About Merit Selection in the Blogosphere EDITORIAL: Doubts about state Supreme Court - Coulee News Gay rights advocates rip suit to undo Prop...
links for 2009-05-29
Posted on May 29, 2009judgesonmerit.org » ?Merit Selection is the Right Choice? The Good News in Today?s California Marriage Decision — Balkinization Group Seeks to Block D.C. Bill Recognizing Same-Sex Marriages - washingtonpost.com Senate Rejects Referendum On Same-Sex Marriage - New Hampshire News Story - WMUR Manchester Added money will keep Iowa courts open in June | DesMoinesRegister...
links for 2009-05-28
Posted on May 28, 2009Ted Olson goes to court on behalf of gay marriage | Washington Examiner judgesonmerit.org » Look Who?s Talking About Reform City Brights: Zennie Abraham : The California Supreme Court's Illogical Prop 8 Decision New poll says New Yorkers want gay marriage brought to vote, even if passage not a sure thing Crowd outside state Supreme Court debates Prop...
No Shortage of Opinions on Sotomayor
Posted on May 28, 2009Just days after President Obama’s decision to nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, one doesn’t have to look too hard to find an opinion on the subject. Advertisements supporting and opposing the nomination can already be found on television, and statements from dozens of organizations have already been released...
links for 2009-05-27
Posted on May 27, 2009The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Liberal Groups Unanimous in Praise of Sotomayor The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Conservative Groups Skeptical of Sotomayor Hill Leaders, Lobby Groups React To Sotomayor : NPR The Battle Ahead: What will Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation process look like Interest groups gird for high court pick - Washington Times The Associated [...
Blasting Out of the Blocks
Posted on May 27, 2009Much like the 2005-06 confirmation hearings for Samuel Alito, competing groups have wasted no time in framing the debate over appellate judge Sonia Sotomayer. Ads by the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network and liberal Coalition for Constitutional Values, as well as a barrage of competing talking points, have occupied parallel intellectual universes...
Wisconsin Journal Calls for Judicial Appointments
Posted on May 27, 2009On a day when Wisconsin legislators are considering bills to publicly finance appellate court elections, and to require all sponsors of election-related communications to reveal their financial sources, the Wisconsin State Journal has called for merit selection of judges, saying that modern-day judicial elections have created irreconcilable conflicts...
Fun Supreme Court Read of the Day
Posted on May 27, 2009Who was the first president to have a Supreme Court nomination slapped down by the Senate? (Hint: think “Father of Our Country.” In one of the most enjoyable reads inspired by the new Supreme Court vacancy, Time magazine has a pictorial survey of its top 10 “bench battles...
Sonia Sotomayor: Thoughts and Links
Posted on May 26, 2009The news in Washington today is President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, a New York-based federal appellate judge who would become the nation’s first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court justice. Before offering a few thoughts on today’s announcement ceremony (for C-Span video, click here), here are some valuable media links: New York Times; Washington Post; USA Today; Wall [...
California Court Upholds Prop. 8
Posted on May 26, 2009Prop. 8, the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in California, has been upheld 6-1 by the state Supreme Court. The ballot measure has triggered angry words toward the high court from opposing sides. Opponents of gay marriage had issued veiled threats to unseat state Supreme Court justices if they had found Prop...
links for 2009-05-23
Posted on May 23, 2009Obama's Right and Cheney Doesn't Get It: Freedom Makes Us Strong - Robert Schlesinger (usnews.com) Obama Endorses Indefinite Detention Without Trial for Some Now at Guantanamo - washingtonpost.com On Obama's Speech on Guantanamo Bay Detainees / Rise to the rule of law Opening Arguments - Abortion Foes Re-Energized by Court Fight The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : [...
links for 2009-05-22
Posted on May 22, 2009Sentencing Law and Policy: Upcoming House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on crack sentencing First Guantanamo inmate to face New York trial - Telegraph The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Specter Recommends Four Women Who Are Not Judges Senate approves stripping Gitmo funding - First Read - msnbc...
links for 2009-05-21
Posted on May 21, 2009The Legal Intelligencer Blog: Williams Drops Support of Merit Selection Judicial discipline needs a full probe — The Galveston County Daily News Wisconsin marriage amendment goes to black robes (OneNewsNow.com) judgesonmerit.org » The Morning After Brings A Call for Reform appear The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Two New Judges Appointed to FISA Court Another judge defines detention power [...
links for 2009-05-20
Posted on May 20, 2009judgesonmerit.org » On Eve of Election, Endorsements for Merit Selection judgesonmerit.org » Will Concerns About Judicial Integrity Affect the Pennsylvania Judicial Elections? Judge Sotomayor?s Civil Opinions - Part II | SCOTUSblog Judge Sotomayor?s Appellate Opinions in Civil Cases | SCOTUSblog
links for 2009-05-19
Posted on May 19, 2009Stopping bias on the bench Keller court accepted after-hours filing in 2003 A makeover for Pa.'s notorious kids-for-cash court | AP | 05/16/2009 Legislature leaves judicial selection alone, helps public defenders – EDITORIAL: Judicial performance — Las Vegas Review-Journal JANE ANN MORRISON: Method of picking justice of the peace candidates has merit — Las Vegas Review-Journal Midnight hour at the Capitol [...
Conservatives, Interest Groups Gear Up for SCotUS Battle
Posted on May 18, 2009An article in the Sunday New York Times outlines ten memoranda drafted by conservative groups, the contents of which show that the conservative movement is preparing itself to vigorously fight any nominee that President Obama chooses to replace retiring justice David Souter...
Attack on Merit Falls Short in Missouri
Posted on May 18, 2009A plan to revise Missouri’s merit selection system failed on Friday, when the Senate adjourned without voting on a proposed constitutional amendment that would have given elected offiicials more influence in the appointment of appeals court judges...
Op-Ed Cautions Against Bybee Impeachment
Posted on May 18, 2009An opinion column by Justice at Stake’s executive director, Bert Brandenburg, calls the impeachment of judges for their legal views the “atomic bomb of American politics,” and warns that impeaching federal judge Jay Bybee for his memos on interrogating detainees would set a dangerous precedent...
links for 2009-05-16
Posted on May 16, 2009House (Republicans) accuse Tx Supreme Court of judicial activism — TRAIL BLAZERS Blog | The Dallas Morning News Choosing judges based on merit a good system | www.azstarnet.com ® Senate panel advances judicial selection proposal — The Elizabethton Star The current plan on judges is ridiculous | www...
links for 2009-05-15
Posted on May 15, 2009Warning: explode() [function.explode]: Empty delimiter in /home/mmcnab/gavelgrab.org/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube/wp-youtube/wp-youtube.php on line 227
White House Releases Statement on Military Commissions
Posted on May 15, 2009The White House released a statement today regarding the use of military commissions to try suspected terrorists. President Obama is seeking continuences in several military commission proceedings in order to buy time to explore the matter further. The statement outlines five changes that will be implemented in military commission proceedings: The rule changes will ensure that: First, [...
links for 2009-05-14
Posted on May 14, 2009Most NC judges agree to voluntary pay cut | CITIZEN-TIMES.com | Asheville Citizen-Times 'Tennessee Plan' unfettered by politics | www.tennessean.com | The Tennessean Saint Louis Beacon - If Missouri Senate agrees, non-partisan court plan could be put up for a vote Bad system leads to some bad judges | www...
A ?Civilized? Confirmation? Ideas From the LA Times
Posted on May 14, 2009Warning: explode() [function.explode]: Empty delimiter in /home/mmcnab/gavelgrab.org/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube/wp-youtube/wp-youtube.php on line 227
Merit Foes Make Last Push in Missouri
Posted on May 14, 2009Warning: explode() [function.explode]: Empty delimiter in /home/mmcnab/gavelgrab.org/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube/wp-youtube/wp-youtube.php on line 227
Anti-Merit Bill Vetoed in Indiana
Posted on May 14, 2009Warning: explode() [function.explode]: Empty delimiter in /home/mmcnab/gavelgrab.org/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube/wp-youtube/wp-youtube.php on line 227
links for 2009-05-13
Posted on May 13, 2009Ramsey relents on contested elections for justices - WRCB Channel 3 Chattanooga News, Weather | judgesonmerit.org » Election Season Leads Inquirer To Call for Merit Selection Court worker overcame fears to take down Galveston judge | Houston & Texas News | Chron...
Elections Off Again in Tennessee
Posted on May 13, 2009Tennessee’s struggle to replace its old judicial nominating commissions is taking on the twists and turns of a Victorian melodrama. In the latest update, Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey, left, a Republican who has led efforts to remove the old system, appears to have dropped his own recent proposal to elect appellate and Supreme Court judges...
links for 2009-05-12
Posted on May 12, 2009O?Connor on Judicial Elections: ?They?re Awful. I Hate Them? | ABA Journal - Law News Now Missouri Plan secrecy not good for courts | The Columbia Daily Tribune - Columbia, MO In retrospect, signing Tennessee Plan was mistake | www...
O?Connor Warns of Diminishing Trust in Courts
Posted on May 12, 2009In a keynote speech last week in Charlotte, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor renewed her concerns about electing state Supreme Court judges, saying that “Distrust of the judiciary in any jurisdiction becomes distrust of the judiciary in all jurisdictions...
Transparency Urged for Texas Court
Posted on May 12, 2009An interesting debate is taking shape in Texas over how much transparency state Supreme Court justices should have. A bill by Texas State Senator Kirk Watson, left, would force the judges to disclose their votes on whether to accept or decline cases, according to this Austin American-Statesman article...
links for 2009-05-09
Posted on May 09, 2009judgesonmerit.org » PA Supreme Court Candidates Talk About Money Keep Tennessee Plan for state judges | jacksonsun.com | Legal Theory Blog: Public Discourse About Judicial Nominations (Again) White House Formalizes Supreme Court Short List - Legalities WisBar | Wisconsin Lawyer May 2009: President's Message: Reflecting on Loyalty, Freedom of Speech
More on ABA Summit From Legal Times
Posted on May 09, 2009Tony Mauro of the Washington Legal Times has this report on the ABA summit on fair and impartial courts, which we referenced yesterday in Gavel Grab.
Poll Urges Greater Cooperation on Justice Issues
Posted on May 08, 2009A new national poll on relations among the branches of government has been released by the National Center for State Courts, which is coordinating an American Bar Association summit of state leaders in Charlotte, N.C. (To learn about the ABA meeting, click here...
Missouri Bar Leader Rebuts Journal Editorial
Posted on May 08, 2009Thomas Burke, president of the Missouri Bar Association, has responded to a Wall Street Journal, which had praised an attempt to reconfigure his state’s commission-based system for appointing judges. Burke called the proposal a “Trojan horse” that would inject politics into the state court system...
links for 2009-05-08
Posted on May 08, 2009Ginsburg: The court needs another woman — USATODAY.com TheHill.com - Sessions says he?d consider gay Supreme Court nominee Pa. Bar Association posts judicial candidate questionnaires | News | citizensvoice.com | The Citizens' Voice
links for 2009-05-07
Posted on May 07, 2009:: TheSouthern.com - Southern Illinois' Homepage :: Judicial Reform Proposal Is a Political Trojan Horse - WSJ.com Missouri?s court system isn?t broken | The Columbia Daily Tribune - Columbia, MO The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Judge Michael McConnell Leaving the Bench
links for 2009-05-06
Posted on May 06, 2009Deseret News | Hatch says Senate to debate future of courts, not just nominees Obama Talks With Senators About Souter Retirement — Legal Blog Watch judgesonmerit.org » Pa. Judicial Candidate Praises Merit Selection Texas Supreme Court judges should disclose votes
Sessions to Replace Specter as Ranking Member on Judiciary
Posted on May 06, 2009The GOP has selected Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama to serve temporarily as the Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill. Sen. Sessions replaces Republican-turned-Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter as the highest ranking Republican on the committee...
Special Interests Get Their Say in SCoTUS Vacancy Media Coverage
Posted on May 06, 2009As speculation continues to swell over who President Obama will nominate to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, organizations continue to lobby the president to choose a candidate that will instill some diversity into the bench. An article in the Examiner seems to endorse Circuit Court Judge Susan Sotomayor, who, if confirmed, would be just the [...
links for 2009-05-05
Posted on May 05, 2009judgesonmerit.org » More Party Maneuverings in Philly Judicial Elections Improve, don't scrap, system of picking judges : Today's Editorial : Knoxville News Sentinel Editorial: Tennessee Plan under attack : Editorials : Memphis Commercial Appeal Summers/Davenport: Will justice be for sale in Tennessee? : Perspectives : Knoxville News Sentinel 5/1/2009 - Judges Can Comment On Judicial Selection - And Response [...
Souter Articles Target Special Interests
Posted on May 04, 2009Media coverage of Justice Souter’s retirement continued over the weekend and today. Of particular note was the Washington Post’s coverage of actions already taken by special interest groups with regard to Souter’s replacement. Organizations like NARAL and Alliance for Justice have released statements outlining their criteria for President Obama’s nominee...
links for 2009-05-02
Posted on May 02, 2009Ramsey seeks agreement on judicial selection — WZTV FOX 17/Nashville 04/30/2009 - Effort to change the Missouri Plan's method of choosing judges fails in the Missouri Senate - STLtoday.com Face It: Judges Are Political, Elect Them Openly - WSJ...
President Obama?s Statement on Justice Souter?s Retirement
Posted on May 01, 2009. President Obama made a surprise appearance at this afternoon’s White House daily press briefing to confirm that Justice David Souter had told him he plans to retire. After praising Souter?s career, the President added (video here): Now, the process of selecting someone to replace Justice Souter is among my most serious responsibilities as President...
Souter Retirement Reports Spark Media Outpouring
Posted on May 01, 2009Reports that Supreme Court Justice David Souter plans to retire has set off a media stampede focusing on two questions: Whom will President Obama choose as Souter’s replacement, and will the nomination battle be somewhat civil or outright ugly? Initial reports Thursday night focused on Souter’s apparent decision-still unconfirmed-to retire at the end of this term...
Attack on Missouri Plan Stalling?
Posted on May 01, 2009Missouri’s Senate failed to take a vote on an overhaul of the state’s system for appointing judges. According to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, that probably means the proposed constitutional amendment is dead for this year. The proposal had been passed by the House, but needs Senate approval to go before voters in 2010...
links for 2009-04-30
Posted on April 30, 2009Wisconsin court candidates spent $1.26 million - WGBA - Outside groups spent over $1 million in court race - The Daily Cardinal Let's reform how Missouri selects judges | Midwest Voices
Bybee Invited to Testify by Leahy
Posted on April 30, 2009Jay Bybee, the federal appellate judge targeted by some for impeachment, has been invited by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to explain his role in legal opinions that justified the harsh interrogation of detainees. Bybee wrote the memos in 2002, while head of the Bush administration?s Office of Legal Counsel, before he [...
Agreement Would End Merit Selection in Indiana County
Posted on April 30, 2009St. Joseph County, one of two jurisdictions in Indiana that appoints local judges through merit selection commissions, would begin electing Superior Court judges under an agreement reached between House and Senate conferees, according to a news report...
New Gavel to Gavel Issue
Posted on April 30, 2009Gavel to Gavel, the excellent National Center for State Courts summary of legislation affecting state courts, has been released. This note from editor Bill Raftery contains the details: Small claims: Oklahoma?s House and Senate vote to more than quadruple their limits from $6,000 to $25,000 while New Hampshire?s House approves an increase from $5,000 to $10,000...
Tennessee Lawmakers Split on Judicial Elections
Posted on April 30, 2009A Tennessee Senate panel has unexpectedly voted to hold contested elections for appellate judges, putting it on a collision course with House leaders, who are seeking to modify the current appointive system. In a surprise move, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, right, cast a tie-breaking vote in favor of a plan to begin competitive elections as early as next [...
links for 2009-04-29
Posted on April 29, 2009judgesonmerit.org » Lawyers Helping Judges Get Elected judgesonmerit.org » Judges and Campaign Contributors Same-sex marriage: Gay couple sues over license denial | ShreveportTimes | The Times State bar to publish bios on judicial candidates | News | standardspeaker...
Blagojevich?s Legacy to Include Court Reforms?
Posted on April 29, 2009An Illinois commission appointed in the wake of the Rod Blagojevich scandal has proposed several significant reforms affecting how judges are elected, as part of a broader program to clean up ethics problems. In a report released Tuesday, the Illinois Reform Commission called for public financing of judicial elections, starting in 2010, as a pilot test of [...
New Spending Totals From Wisconsin
Posted on April 29, 2009The Wisconsin Supreme Court race has been over a few weeks, but the campaign spending totals are still rolling in. According to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC), a Justice at Stake partner, $1.26 million was spent by special interest groups. The biggest spenders were the Greater Wisconsin Committee and the Wisconsin Education Council...
Specter?s Defection Raises Questions about Judicial Nominations
Posted on April 29, 2009While Sen. Arlen Specter’s defection has been the source of much delight in Democratic circles, it remains unclear what, if any, effect the senator’s new party affiliation will have on President Obama’s judicial nominations. When Sen...
Alterations to ?Missouri Plan? Slammed
Posted on April 29, 2009As Gavel Grab discussed earlier this month, the Missouri legislature is debating a constitutional amendment that would alter the nonpartisan Missouri Plan by giving lawmakers more power in selecting state judges. According to the University of Missouri’s Maneater, incoming Missouri Bar President Harold “Skip” Walther told a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters: This bill was designed [...
Texas Senator Issues Warning to White House Over Nominations
Posted on April 28, 2009A judicial war of words is brewing between the U.S. senators from Texas and the Obama White House. CQ Politics reports that Sen. John Cornyn has stated in plain words that if the White House does not give his and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s judicial recommendations their due attention, there will be repercussions...
links for 2009-04-25
Posted on April 25, 2009judgesonmerit.org » Talking About Judicial Selection in PA Gloria Clark Reno pioneers as first black woman circuit court judge in STL County - St. Louis American House Panel Advances Judicial Selection Proposals — Memphis Daily News NH committee recommends killing gay marriage bill - Boston...
links for 2009-04-24
Posted on April 24, 2009Justice O'Connor issues elected judges opinion - WNDU-NBC News O'Connor favors merit selection of judges — chicagotribune.com Wall Street Journal wrong about Missouri judge plan | Midwest Voices UPDATE: Bar Association stumps against changes to Missouri Plan | Political Fix | STLtoday Mo...
links for 2009-04-23
Posted on April 23, 2009Missouri Brakes - WSJ.com Missourinet: Missouri Bar comes out against any change to Missouri Plan Lt. Governor Ramsey offers new plan on Supreme Court elections : Mid-South : Memphis Commercial Appeal Should Texas judges be appointed instead of elected? Chattanooga Times Free Press | A threat to courts? integrity PhillyBurbs...
Justices Smile for the Camera-Sort of
Posted on April 23, 2009Fun blog posting from reporter Tony Mauro of the Washington Legal Times, on the appearance of Justices Stephen G. Breyer, right, and Clarence Thomas at a House hearing on the U.S. Supreme Court’s annual budget request. Amid a discussion of whether the court should allow television cameras, the video-averse justices suddenly found themselves live on the internet, via [...
Calls for Impeachment of Judge Bybee Get More Media Attention
Posted on April 23, 2009With impeachment threats growing against Judge Jay Bybee, media outlets are publishing story after story on the issue. As Gavel Grab has previously covered, Judge Bybee is under attack for memos authorizing harsh treatment of detainees, recently released by the Obama administration, that he drafted prior to his time on the federal bench...
Tort Reform Group Urges Public Financing in Illinois
Posted on April 22, 2009The Illinois Civil Justice League, which donated nearly $1.2 million in the most expensive state Supreme court election ever, has unveiled a plan to use public financing for state appellate judges. Referring to a 2004 election in which Republican Lloyd Karmeier, right, and Democratic opponent Gordon Maag raised a combined $9...
Merit Selection Debated in 3 States
Posted on April 22, 2009Debates over media selection have attracted media attention in three states. An Austin American-statesman article says attempts to appoint judges face an uphill battle in Texas, despite support from state Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson. The article cites the state’s longstanding public support for electing judges, as well as fears by many special interests that they might [...
links for 2009-04-17
Posted on April 17, 2009Memphis Flyer | Politics Beat Blog | Chief Justice Defends Tennessee Plan, calls Direct-Elections for State Judiciary ?Ridiculous? Public financing of local elections a logical step
Impeach Judge Bybee? (continued)
Posted on April 17, 2009In the wake of the release of Justice Department memos about detainee treatment, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow was the latest to talk about impeaching Judge Jay Bybee, a former Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel who wrote some of them. An excerpt, which begins at 7:30 of this video, reads: MADDOW: In reading the Bybee memo [...
When Should Judges Recuse over their own Campaign Contributions?
Posted on April 16, 2009The growing debate over recusal of judges over campaign cash has seeped into the federal courts. This time questions involve contributions made by judges. The National Law Journal reports that two members of the Minnesota Supreme Court, which has been hearing litigation over the prolonged U...
links for 2009-04-16
Posted on April 16, 2009Legal Profession Blog: Better Judging Through Education judgesonmerit.org » Is Anyone Voting in Judicial Elections? Defendants, put your trust in . . . judge | Guest opinion: Michael Morrison
If at First You Don?t Secede ?
Posted on April 16, 2009Evidently, the way to get reelected in Texas is to fan the flames of states? rights and secession. At least that appears to be Governor Rick Perry?s strategy. Locked in a reelection race against Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Gov. Perry appeared at a rally yesterday where his crowd screamed for secession...
links for 2009-04-15
Posted on April 15, 2009Off the Kuff: Ethics and campaign finance bills to get their turn Off the Kuff: Public financing for judicial races Thompson, McConnell selected for federal judgeships | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal judgesonmerit...
links for 2009-04-14
Posted on April 14, 2009Koschnick says he was asked about '08 court bid - JSOnline Tennessee Judicial Reform: "Handling" Ramsey's proposal for judicial selection Poster boy for merit selection was miffed over 1993 political campaign — themorningcall...
Business Committee Urges Merit Selection
Posted on April 14, 2009Our friends at Choose Judges on Merit, the blog of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, have noted this editorial by the Committee for Economic Development. Advocating merit selection for judges, the Committee declared that fair courts would help foster business and economic development: According to the 2008 U...
Administration to Appeal Bagram Habeas Decision
Posted on April 13, 2009The Obama Administration will appeal a decision granting habeas rights to detainees held at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, the New York Times reports. The decision by U.S. District Judge John D. Bates would permit detainees held at Bagram to seek federal court review of their imprisonment...
Ginsburg ?Lonely? as Supreme Court?s Only Woman
Posted on April 13, 2009U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (right) said she feels ?lonely? as the only high court’s female justice, according to an article by the Associated Press. In a speech to Ohio State University law students, Ginsburg noted that the United States could follow the example of other nations like Canada, whose Supreme Court holds four women: [...
links for 2009-04-11
Posted on April 11, 2009Editorial: Supreme Court elections need public funds | Postcrescent.com | Appleton Post-Crescent The Indiana Law Blog: Ind. Courts - "Proposal to switch to elected judges in St. Joseph Co. advances"; concerns about Lake judges being next BUTTRY: Iowans should pass on 3-year fight over same-sex marriage | GazetteOnline...
links for 2009-04-10
Posted on April 10, 2009Think Progress » Gov. Paterson to introduce marriage equality legislation in New York. CQ Politics | Legal Beat - Leahy Rebuffs GOP On Do-Over Confirmation Hearing Immigration Impact » Blog Archive » Utah Police Say ?Local Agencies Can?t Solve the Immigration Problem? Iowa Independent » Chances of Iowa gay marriage ban dwindle judgesonmerit...
links for 2009-04-09
Posted on April 09, 2009The Badger Herald: News: Abrahamson to stay chief justice Influential Wisconsin justice wins re-election — chicagotribune.com Abrahamson secures fourth term as Chief Justice - The Daily Cardinal The News-Gazette.com: Illinois Reform Commission says time is ripe for change Judge Keller coverage: Are we missing anything? | DMN INVESTIGATES Blog | The Dallas Morning News Mo...
Tennessee Waltz: New Appointment Plans Are Floated
Posted on April 09, 2009With time running out on Tennessee’s system for nominating appellate and Supreme Court judges, Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey (R) has proposed giving the governor unrestricted power to appoint judges until at least 2014, but there is no immediate plan underway to choose judges through competitive elections...
links for 2009-04-08
Posted on April 08, 2009Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage, Overrides Governor's Veto VPR News: Senate, House Prepare for Override Vote (Vermont same-sex marriage) Iowa Senate leader rules out gay marriage debate — chicagotribune.com Court challenger urges backers to 'retire' justice — chicagotribune...
Iowa Leader Bars Challenge to Gay Marriage Ruling
Posted on April 08, 2009Iowa’s Senate majority leader says he will not support any legislative challenge to a state Supreme Court ruling upholding gay marriage in his state, effectively killing any attempt by some lawmakers to intervene. According to an Associated Press article, the refusal by Senator Michael Gronstal leaves gay marriage opponents few immediate options for overturning the high [...
Abrahamson Wins Reelection in Wisconsin
Posted on April 08, 2009Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who had decisively beaten challenger Randy Koschnick in the fundraising battle, was comfortably reelected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court yesterday. For stories on the election, click here and here. Abrahamson received about 60 percent of the vote...
links for 2009-04-07
Posted on April 07, 2009judgesonmerit.org » Party Politics and Judicial Elections judgesonmerit.org » Restoring Confidence in the Judiciary Koschnick: Iowa court ruling result of judicial 'activism' - JSOnline Manchin Orders Review Of State Judicial System Guest column: The people should select judges | greenbaypressgazette...
links for 2009-04-04
Posted on April 04, 2009Time Limits on Judicial Opinions — Concurring Opinions Court election watchdog warns voters about 30-second ads - JSOnline Abrahamson, Koschnick plan campaign-ending flyarounds - JSOnline Major extension of Boumediene | SCOTUSblog Unanimous ruling: Iowa marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman | DesMoinesRegister...
links for 2009-04-03
Posted on April 03, 2009Big Money Blog: New Reporting System Fails Public Again Judicial decision making and the ?Foxermeasaluppycat? « Voir Dire Judge's omission on financial disclosures was inadvertent, her attorney says | Top Stories | Star-Telegram.com Editorial: Who pays the legal fees for judges charged with ethical violations? | Editorials & Opinions | Star-Telegram...
Iowa Court Strikes Down Same-Sex Marriage Ban
Posted on April 03, 2009In a landmark ruling, the Iowa State Supreme Court has lifted the ban against same-sex marriages, according to an article by kcci.com. In Varnum v. Brien, six same-sex couples sued their county for denying them marriage licenses. A lower court had ruled to overturn the ban...
As Wisconsin Race Nears End, Koschnick Airs Negative Ad
Posted on April 03, 2009In Wisconsin news, Randy Koschnick has decided to go on the attack with his newest ad, on the eve of the state’s April 7 Supreme Court election. Koschnick’s new ad, titled “Record,” attempts to exploit Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson’s vote to strike down a Wisconsin sexual predator law...
Obama Names 2 for Appellate Vacancies
Posted on April 03, 2009President Obama nominated two more U.S. appeals court judges Thursday, according to the Associated Press. If confirmed, Judge Andre Davis would serve on the Fourth U.S. District Court of Appeals in Virginia, while Judge Gerard Lynch would sit on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York...
Federal Judge: Civilian Courts Can Handle Terror Cases
Posted on April 03, 2009A federal judge who sentenced 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison said Thursday that civilian courts are capable of trying terrorism cases, specifically cases involving Guantanamo detainees, the Associated Press reported. U.S District Judge Leonie Brinkema said that the Mossaoui case proved that civilian courts have the ability to properly handle complex terrorism cases...
Texas Judge Omits Millions in Financial Disclosures
Posted on April 03, 2009Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller, currently facing possible impeachment on ethics charges for refusing to keep her office open to receive a last-minute execution appeal, omitted almost $2 million in assets in her annual financial disclosures, according to an article by The Dallas Morning News...
Is Illinois Ready for Judicial Evaluation Commission?
Posted on April 03, 2009. Safeguarding U.S. Democracy: Promoting an Independent Judiciary and the League of Women Voters of Illinois present a public forum on the future of a Judicial Evaluation Commission in Illinois States throughout the United States have created judicial performance commissions to utilize professional staff to conduct fair, responsible and constructive evaluations of trial and appellate judges and [...
links for 2009-04-02
Posted on April 02, 2009Another Reason Why Immigration Reform Should Pass This Year: We Are All In Agreement | NDN Blog Morning News turns up heat in Keller showdown More on the Sharon Keller case | Austin Legal Commission to select chief justice nominees for state Supreme Court | Rhode Island news | projo...
Ruling Gives Habeas Rights to Bagram Detainees
Posted on April 02, 2009A federal judge has ruled today that detainees at Bagram Airfield can challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts, the New York Times reported. The decision is similar to last year’s Supreme Court decision that detainees held at Guantanamo had the right to challenge their internment...
links for 2009-04-01
Posted on April 01, 2009news: Election Matters blog: Koschnick, Wisconsin Right to Life ramp up conservative appeal Big Money Has Big Role in Race — Leader-Telegram Online Abrahamson nears record for spending by court hopeful - JSOnline Burnam continues push to have impeachment hearings for Keller | Texas Legislature | Star-Telegram...
Opinion Confuses Tennessee Debate
Posted on March 31, 2009Attempts to end Tennessee’s system of appointing appellate judges have encountered a signfiicant snag. According to a news article, the state attorney general said judicial vacancies can’t be filled unless the legislature passes new laws laying out how judicial elections will be held...
links for 2009-03-31
Posted on March 31, 2009For Supreme Court: merit reform– WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports-Wis. Supreme court candidates have final debate Gay marriage supporters follow Vt. governor The Associated Press: Gay marriage effort shifts back to New England Chattanooga Times Free Press | Legal opinion says ending Tennessee Plan for appellate judges could create problems
links for 2009-03-28
Posted on March 28, 2009judgesonmerit.org » Indiana Bar President: Change the Way Judges are Selected West Virginia Record | Court grants AP's appeal over Maynard's e-mails The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports - Business - High court denies Massey brief filing in Harman case Koschnick asks Abrahamson to join call for taking down ad - JSOnline Special interest activity starts [...
links for 2009-03-27
Posted on March 27, 2009New York Lawmakers Agree to Repeal ?70s-Era Drug Laws - NYTimes.com judgesonmerit.org » Tennessee Judges Praise Merit Selection System Koschnick campaign responds to independent attack ad - JSOnline The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Justice Ginsburg on Life on the Supreme Court Alan Page talks about impartial judiciary, education, change : Local : Times Record News Alabama House [...
Alabama Rejects Bills for Nonpartisan Elections
Posted on March 27, 2009The Alabama Legislature has voted down two bills that would remove politics from judicial elections, according to a report by the Associate Press. The bills would have created nonpartisan elections and limited campaign contributions for appellate judge candidates...
Tennessee Judges Urge State to Keep Merit Selection
Posted on March 27, 2009Choose Judges on Merit, the blog of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, have marked this article in the Triangle Business Journal. As the Tennessee Legislature debates whether to retain merit selection, appellate court judges, such as Justice William Koch, support the system: ??[We] believe in merit selection as an appropriate, effective and efficient way to select and [...
links for 2009-03-26
Posted on March 26, 2009Liberal group's ad attacks Supreme Court candidate — chicagotribune.com Judges for sale - The Boston Globe Judge Keller files response to charges | Austin Legal Wisconsin Law Journal - DCBA members pick Abrahamson as most qualified Accused Qaeda Sleeper Agent in Court - NYTimes...
Editorial Calls for Recusal in Caperton
Posted on March 26, 2009As the nation awaits a decision on Caperton v. Massey, a Boston Globe editorial is calling for the U.S. Supreme Court to ?slow a dismaying trend toward the auctioning off of judgeships by deep-pocketed special interests.? Although Massachusetts practices gubernatorial appointments, 39 states elect their judges in ?campaigns that are as bare-knuckled and richly financed as [...
Texas Judge Responds to Impeachment Charges
Posted on March 26, 2009A Texas judge has responded to charges she violated her judicial duties by refusing to keep her office open after business hours for a late execution appeal. According to an article in the Austin American-Statesman, Sharon Keller (right), presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, denied the charges being considered by the State Commission [...
First Ad Attack in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race
Posted on March 26, 2009A liberal group?s advertisement has struck the first blow in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, an article in the Chicago Tribune reports. With two weeks to go before the election, the Greater Wisconsin Committee released a TV ad attacking Jefferson County Circuit Judge Randy Koschnick (left), who is challenging Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson (right)...
links for 2009-03-25
Posted on March 25, 2009judgesonmerit.org » Pennsylvania is Talking about Judges and Money STATE SUPREME COURT RACE Q&A: SHIRLEY ABRAHAMSON Ariz. chief justice to retire at end of June The Associated Press: Court says US asked detainee to drop torture claim JURIST - Paper Chase: White House to release Bush administration interrogation memos: report JURIST - Paper Chase: Obama: Guantanamo policies must accord with [...
links for 2009-03-24
Posted on March 24, 2009JURIST - Paper Chase: Federal court denies military contractor motion to dismiss Abu Ghraib torture suit New pressure in Uighurs? cases | SCOTUSblog Obama challenged anew on detention | SCOTUSblog Putting Guantanamo to good use - The Boston Globe The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Federal Caseloads Rose Modestly in 2008 The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times [...
links for 2009-03-21
Posted on March 21, 2009Obama Talks up Comprehensive Immigration Reform | NDN Blog The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Judge Michel Offers Views on Federal Circuit Judicial Nominees New Abrahamson ad touts foreclosure test program - JSOnline judgesonmerit.org » ABA President Decries Judicial Elections
links for 2009-03-20
Posted on March 20, 2009Judge Denies Bail to al-Marri - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime Should Empathy Be a Standard for Judging a Judge? — Legal Blog Watch Sentencing Law and Policy: Are a lot more new federal judgeships in the works? Is the ABA Biased Against Conservative Judicial Nominees? A Study Says Yes - Law Blog - WSJ The BLT: The Blog [...
Revised Code of Conduct for United States Judges
Posted on March 20, 2009Earlier this week, the Judicial Conference of the United States adopted a revised Code of Conduct for United States Judges. A summary of the revisions can be found here. A table cross-referencing the Codes can be found here. The Code of Conduct contains rules (called “cannons”) and commentary that govern the behavior of United States circuit [...
Harassment and Threats Against Judges Rising
Posted on March 19, 2009The United States Marshals Service has released data showing a steady increase in threats, harassment and other inappropriate communications with judges. According to the National Law Journal, in just five years the number has risen 89 percent. Federal law sanctions threats against judges, along with the intentional release of personal information with the intent to threaten, [...
links for 2009-03-19
Posted on March 19, 2009JURIST - Paper Chase: Federal judge criticizes Senate for politicizing confirmation process judgesonmerit.org » Looking at the Money Trail in Luzerne County ImmigrationProf Blog: Latino Pressure on Obama for Reform Have Opinion, Will Travel: Will smartphones bring the judicial system down? The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : White House Reiterates Value of Empathy in Judges The BLT: The [...
New legislation requiring judicial recusal due to campaign contributions.
Posted on March 19, 2009. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on the question of state judicial recusal requirements in Caperton v. Massey earlier this month. At issue, whether campaign contributions or expenditures on behalf of a judicial candidate are sufficient to mandate as a matter of due process a judge or justice recuse from a case...
JAS Director Urges Reforms in Illinois
Posted on March 18, 2009Bert Brandenburg, director of Justice at Stake, testified Tuesday before Illinois legislators, urging that they approve public financing, as well as tougher disclosure laws to reveal special interest spending, to reduce the potential conflicts caused by free-spending state court elections...
links for 2009-03-18
Posted on March 18, 2009The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Obama Announces First Judicial Nominee The Associated Press: Old cases may mean new trials for Gitmo detainees Disclosure sought in state Supreme Court elections | greenbaypressgazette.com | Green Bay Press-Gazette CQ Politics | Legal Beat - Judicial Nominations Coming Soon Spivey & Thompson: The problem with merit selection of judges
Obama Names First Judicial Nominee
Posted on March 18, 2009President Obama has named U.S. District Court Judge David F. Hamilton as his pick to fill a vacancy on the Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Hamilton has served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana since his appointment to the bench by President Clinton in 1994...
Major Report Featuring Civil Justice System Solutions Released
Posted on March 18, 2009The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) at the University of Denver - a Justice At Stake partner - recently released a major report featuring proposed Principles to improve the U.S. civil justice system. You also can learn more about this report in an Associated Press article posted on the New York Times web site, as [...
links for 2009-03-17
Posted on March 17, 2009The Associated Press: Ohio court will take your case if you supply paper Experience wanted for judge jobs - al.com Obama Slow to Repudiate Bush in Race, Terrorism Court Cases - Bloomberg.com judgesonmerit.org » Chief Justice of Texas Comes Out Strong for Merit Selection ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: "Enemy Combatants" No More ACSBlog: The Blog of [...
Another Echo of FDR Era?
Posted on March 17, 2009Will President Obama face the same kind of standoff with a conservative federal report that frustrated Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930s? That provocative question is posed by Newsweek writer Michael Waldman in his article, “A Brewing Court Battle...
Columns Urge Retention of Tennessee Plan
Posted on March 17, 2009Tennessee should keep its current system of appointing appellate judges, a Nashville Tennessean editorial has declared, saying that ”when it comes to naming state appellate court judges, including those on the state Supreme Court, Tennessee has a better way...
LA Times Reports on Obama?s Judicial Influence in CA
Posted on March 16, 2009The LA Times wrote yesterday about the upcoming opportunity President Obama has to shape the federal judiciary in California. The president will be naming six new judges for that state, and many will be looking to see if he honors his campaign promises to select judges in a bipartisan manner and name judges with “empathy” [...
Op-Ed Urges Reform in Michigan
Posted on March 16, 2009In an excellent column in the Lansing State Journal, Rich Robinson discusses Caperton v. Massey, the U.S. Supreme Court case on special interest money and elected courts, and asks this question: “What does this mean to Michiganders? Plenty.” As Rich, who is director of Justice at Stake partner Michigan Campaign Finance Network, notes: In 2008, we witnessed a [...
links for 2009-03-14
Posted on March 14, 2009Big Money Blog: Special Interest Control Of Another Court Election, With A Twist judgesonmerit.org » Praising Merit Selection in Tennessee U.S. opposes torture lawsuit | SCOTUSblog Senate Confirms David Ogden as Deputy Attorney General - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime
Texas Chief Justice Champions Merit Selection
Posted on March 13, 2009?We must eliminate cynicism, money and partisanship in judicial selection,? Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson (right) declared in an opinion column in The Dallas Morning News. Echoing a recent address before the Texas Legislature, Jefferson argued for merit selection, using his own career as an example of flawed judicial elections...
TV Ads Unveiled in Wisconsin
Posted on March 13, 2009The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is heating up. In the last week, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and challenger Judge Randy Koschnick have released campaign ads in order to boost interest and support for their respective campaigns. Abrahamson?s ad falls in line with the more traditional approach for State Supreme Court TV ads, discussing her record and [...
Editorial Urges Judicial Reform in Texas
Posted on March 13, 2009An El Paso Times editorial is calling for judicial selection reforms in Texas. The huge donations that have been poured into judicial elections could create the perception of bias in certain cases, the editorial argues. This concern was epitomized by Caperton v...
West Virginia to Consider Public Finance System
Posted on March 13, 2009With national attention on judicial reforms, the West Virginia Legislature is considering a public finance system for judicial elections, an article by LegalNewsline.com reports. The Senate Judiciary Committee may hear a bill to publicly fund judicial candidates...
links for 2009-03-13
Posted on March 13, 2009New Report on Rockefeller Drug Laws - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime Letter - West Virginia Courts - NYTimes.com The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Leahy Vows to Name Names if Nominees Are Delayed Supreme Court candidates clash - JSOnline WUWM: News - Abrahamson Defends, Koschnick Challenges in Debate Another Chapter in Our Judicial Debate - WVNS-TV - [...
links for 2009-03-12
Posted on March 12, 2009ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Souter on the Humanities, Serving on the Court Gov. Crist to fill Supreme Court post - South Florida - MiamiHerald.com Judging . . . A Good Job, But Could it Be Safer? - Law Blog - WSJ ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Ethics Inquiries Plague Washington Justice Judges [...
links for 2009-03-11
Posted on March 11, 2009PARADE Magazine | Can Judges Be Bought? LegalNewsline | Ads hit the airwaves in Wisconsin Supreme Court race WKOW 27: April election looming, many voters undecided Punish Judge Kent: Rogue jurist should be impeached | Editorial | Chron...
links for 2009-03-10
Posted on March 10, 2009judgesonmerit.org » Morning Call Urges Merit Selection How to add spice to Ginsburg story — The Carnegie Legal Reporting Program at Newhouse The Rovian Judiciary?By Scott Horton (Harper's Magazine) Judicial Recusals & Free Speech Cases — How Appealing Judiciary awaits reforms - The Journal Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge's actions called into question | News for Dallas, Texas | [...
A Well-Intended ?Jihad??
Posted on March 10, 2009A very troublesome suggestion to impeach federal judge Jay Bybee (left). first floated in a Slate magazine column in January, has gained support from Credo Action, a progressive organization. Its new online form enables visitors to contact Congress to urge impeachment...
States Eye ?Nullification? of Federal Court Decisions
Posted on March 10, 2009State legislative opposition to federal judicial decisions is nothing new. This year, however, several states have seen resolutions introduced that hint or outright consider the “nullification” of federal court decisions that are opposed by the legislature, the U...
What Polls Are Saying About Recusal
Posted on March 09, 2009In a previous Gavel Grab posting, Justice at Stake intern Lissette Villarruel noted that the following online poll is being conducted by Parade magazine. While admittedly unscientific, its numbers are similar to more rigorous national polls sponsored by USA Today and Justice at Stake...
PA Judges? Scandal Prompts Call for New Selection Method
Posted on March 09, 2009Our friends at Choose Judges on Merit, the blog of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, have flagged this editorial in the Allentown Morning Call. Responding to the horrific case of two state judges who pleaded guilty to sending youths to a privately run detention center as part of a kickback scheme, the Morning Call is urging a [...
Author of JAS Amicus Brief Discusses Court Hearing
Posted on March 09, 2009Elizabeth Wydra, of the Constitutional Accountability Center, appeared last week on Fox News to discuss Caperton v. Massey. Elizabeth authored an amicus brief co-signed by 27 civic reform groups, including Justice at Stake. To see Elizabeth’s interview, click this link to the CAC’s blog posting, or click the television icon above...
Wisconsin Judicial Race Still ?Tame,? Article Says
Posted on March 09, 2009With a month to go, the closely watched Wisconsin Supreme Court race has been ?relatively tame,? according to an article by the Associated Press. Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson maintains a sizeable fund-raising advantage over her opponent, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Randy Koschnick...
Parade Cites JAS, Places Spotlight on Recusal
Posted on March 09, 2009Parade magazine has cited Justice at Stake in an article on Caperton v. Massey, the case on special interest spending and the courts that was argued last week in the U.S. Supreme Court. In an online poll, more than 90 percent of participating Parade readers say judges should not handle cases involving contributors...
Caperton Attorneys Speak on C-Span
Posted on March 09, 2009Andrew L. Frey and Theodore B. Olson, the lead attorneys in last week’s U.S. Supreme Court hearing in Caperton v. Massey spoke afterward to reporters. Excerpts were aired Saturday on C-span’s “America and the Courts” program. To see the interviews, click here.
links for 2009-03-07
Posted on March 07, 2009Are some judges for sale? | Reporter-Times / MD Times judgesonmerit.org » Major PA Newspapers Call for Merit Selection The Collapse of the "Good Faith" Excuse for Yoo (Bybee, Delahunty) — Balkinization Doyle keynotes Abrahamson fund raiser Tuesday - JSOnline Legal Pad: Justices Sound Ready to Uphold Prop 8 Recapping the Prop...
California Court Seen Likely to Uphold Proposition 8
Posted on March 06, 2009The California Supreme Court seemed disinclined to overturn the controversial Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage, but appeared willing to uphold the marriages of same-sex couples before the revision passed in November. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, crowds of both protesters and supporters of the divisive amendment gathered before City Hall as [...
Caperton v. Massey: a Media Review
Posted on March 06, 2009?Is justice for sale?? This question has echoed through recent years as judicial elections have become increasingly nasty and expensive. It has reached a crescendo in recent weeks, as reporters, columnists and editorial writers have reviewed the case of Caperton v...
Minnesota Considers Judicial Reforms
Posted on March 06, 2009Minnesota is pushing judicial reforms in light of the ?rough-and-tumble? politics that have defined Wisconsin?s recent judicial elections, according to an article on MinnPost.com. The state Senate Judiciary Committee is considering proposals to amend Minnesota?s constitution to enforce reforms that would ?buffer? the state from the national trend towards nasty, politicized judicial elections...
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Speaks on Female Judges
Posted on March 06, 2009The Harvard Law Review covered Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Linda Greenhouse’s keynote speech at the Third Annual Women’s Law Association Conference last month. The speech, entitled “What Judges Know,” discussed the role of women in the judiciary...
Editorials Decry ?Justice for Sale,? Urge Recusal Reform
Posted on March 06, 2009Three editorials have called for recusal reform, arguing that the current judicial election system has led the public to believe that justice is for sale. The inspiration for these opinions is Caperton v. Massey, a West Virginia case involving a coal company CEO who spent $3 million to help elect a state supreme court justice who [...
links for 2009-02-26
Posted on February 26, 2009Judge questions law giving telecoms immunity Daily Kos: Torture Commission Coming Soon Judge Who Closed Courthouse Doors Faces Discipline - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime Habeas at Bagram | Mother Jones Abrahamson won't return donations from lawyers - JSOnline Chief Justice Wants Merit Selection of Judges - Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - Copyright 2007 Ourtribune...
Nevada Lawmakers Debate Ending Judicial Elections
Posted on February 26, 2009Nevada is currently considering legislation that would end judicial elections and implement an appointment system, although it faces some opposition, according to an article in the Reno Gazette Journal. Saying that it is “demeaning and degrading” to force judges to collect campaign donations from those who appear before them in court, State Senate Minority Leader Bill [...
Michigan Court Studies Recusal Issue
Posted on February 26, 2009The Michigan Supreme Court justices are committed to addressing the issue of recusal, an article by the Detroit Free Press reported. As Caperton v. Massey, nears its hearing date, the state Supreme Court has paid close attention to the issue of recusal, specifically in terms of any reforms that should be made to the state’s rules on judicial [...
Gavel to Gavel Issue Released
Posted on February 26, 2009The National Center for State Courts has just released its newest edition of Gavel to Gavel, a summary of legislation affecting state courts. This week’s online issue features: Arkansas? Senate approves a bill allowing County Judges to designate their successors in the case of their death or disability in an emergency...
USA Today Column Eyes Caperton Issues
Posted on February 26, 2009A terrific column by Tony Mauro, respected Supreme Court reporter for the Washington Legal Times, appears in USA Today’s online edition. It is titled, “Can Money Obstruct Justice?” Mauro cites a recent poll by Justice at Stake and another by USA Today that show strong public belief that judges should not handle cases involving major campaign benefactors, [...
New Yorker Examines a ?Hard? Detainee Case
Posted on February 25, 2009A New Yorker magazine article, “The Hard Cases,” takes a close-up look at the case of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, an alleged enemy combatant held without charge in a Charleston, S.C., brig, and the difficult policy choices facing President Obama...
links for 2009-02-25
Posted on February 25, 2009PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California Caperton resource page: pluses and minuses –The Carnegie Legal Reporting Program at Newhouse P.I.S.S.D. — Personal Injury, Social Security Disability. Dallas Texas Lawyers: Poll Finds People Doubt Impartiality Of Elected Judges Towards Their Donors Law Blog - WSJ...
links for 2009-02-24
Posted on February 24, 2009U.S.: No habeas rights at Bagram | SCOTUSblog judgesonmerit.org » Changing the Rules in Wisconsin Sentencing Law and Policy: "The last thing the Supreme Court needs: Another judge" Obama?s Judicial Nominees - Ed Whelan - Bench Memos on National Review Online Law Blog - WSJ...
LA Times Joins Call to Free Uighurs
Posted on February 24, 2009The Los Angeles Times has joined the call, sounded in a recent Washington Post editorial, to free 17 Chinese Muslims held at Guantanamo, who have been found not to be enemy combatants. To read the Times editorial, click here.
Study Finds Links Between Contributions, Judicial Decisions
Posted on February 24, 2009A recent study found that campaign contributions can have a significant influence on decisions by state Supreme Court justices, an article in The National Law Journal reported. After studying judicial elections in Michigan, Texas, and Nevada, political scientists Chris Bonneau of the University of Pittsburgh and Damon Cann of Utah State University determined that ?campaign contributions [...
Legal Scholars Call for Supreme Court Reforms
Posted on February 23, 2009As reported in today’s Washington Post, a group of legal scholars have penned a letter to Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, and the chairs andranking minority members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, urging a series of reforms to the United States Supreme Court...
Caperton Garners More Media Attention
Posted on February 23, 2009As Caperton v. Massey nears its hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 3, attention on the recusal case continues to grow. The LA Times released an article on the high-profile West Virginia case, and a Detroit Free Press opinion column focused on the question of recusal ?when cash, courts and politics mix...
Poll: Public Wants Firewall Between Judges, Election Backers
Posted on February 23, 2009An overwhelming percentage of U.S. adults believes that judges cannot be completely impartial and should not participate in cases that involve large campaign contributors, according to a Harris Interactive poll commissioned by Justice at Stake. The national poll, which was cited in a Charleston Gazette article, said that 81% of surveyed adults believe that judges also should not decide whether it [...
Extreme Makeover Urged for Supreme Court
Posted on February 23, 2009… As reported in today’s Washington Post, a group of legal scholars have penned a letter to Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, and the chairs and ranking minority members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, urging a series of reforms to the United States Supreme Court...
links for 2009-02-21
Posted on February 21, 2009Keller violated judicial canons, state agency charges | Austin Legal Off the Kuff: Judicial conduct commission moves against Keller Law Blog - WSJ.com : Do Federal Judges Discriminate Against Discrimination Claims? ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: WSJ Examines Workers' Uphill Battles In Federal Courts judgesonmerit...
Impeachment for Texas Judge? NY Times Weighs In
Posted on February 20, 2009A Feb. 19 New York Times editorial discusses calls to impeach Texas Judge Sharon Keller, and two sentiments are hard to disagree with. First, that Keller showed “monumental callousness, as well as a fundamental misunderstanding of justice,” by closing her court at 5 p...
Washington Post Urges Obama to Release Uighurs
Posted on February 20, 2009A Washington Post editorial calls on President Obama to allow the 17 Chinese Uighurs still in captivity at Guantanamo to be allowed entry into the United States. The Uighurs have been detained in Guantanamo since 2002, despite a lack of evidence to hold them...
Ruling Lets Wisconsin Judges Get Partisan
Posted on February 20, 2009State judges can now join political parties, endorse political candidates, and seek campaign contributions, as a result of a federal judge’s ruling, according to a Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel article. In a case challenging the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, U...
W.Va. Case Echoes Grisham Novel?Again
Posted on February 20, 2009In an endless, eerie echo of John Grisham?s novel “The Appeal,” West Virginia residents have filed a lawsuit claiming that coal mining activities have intoxicated the local water. A recent article from The Washington Post reports that citizens of several towns are suing eight coal companies for contaminating their water by dispensing coal mine wastes into [...
links for 2009-02-20
Posted on February 20, 2009Court Blocks Release of Uighur Detainees Into U.S. - washingtonpost.com The Canadian Press: Sweden grants asylum to former Chinese Guantanamo detainee LegalNewsline.com | La. justices to U.S. SC: Don't believe everything you read Judge Says Wis...
ABA President Gives Update on Court Issues
Posted on February 20, 2009Few recent ABA presidents have made protecting the courts so central to their agenda as H. Thomas ?Tommy? Wells Jr. Gavel Grab was fortunate to talk with Tommy at last week?s American Bar Association midyear meeting, and he gave the following updates on issues affecting the courts...
links for 2009-02-19
Posted on February 19, 2009Law.com - Judge Conflict Case Tests High Court Veteran Judicial Elections: Is There A Better Solution? | InjuryBoard Mobile judgesonmerit.org » Merit Selection Can Help Increase Confidence in Our Courts Dorf on Law: Supreme Tortship ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Class Actions Target Corrupt Judges
links for 2009-02-18
Posted on February 18, 2009Impartial justice - Salt Lake Tribune Mass. chief justice urges support for state courts - Boston.com State stops judge?s pay | News | citizensvoice.com | The Citizens' Voice Wisconsin?s chief justice says she calls cases based on fact : La Crosse Tribune Editorial - Deportation and Due Process - NYTimes...
USA Today Poll: Judges Shouldn?t Help Campaign Backers
Posted on February 17, 2009An excellent article from USA Today discusses Caperton v. Massey in detail, and in a new poll shows that the public overwhelmingly believes that judges should not handle cases involving campaign supporters. ?The notion of impartial judges is central to the U...
Texas Legislator Seeks to Impeach High-Court Judge
Posted on February 17, 2009A Texas representative has introduced a resolution to impeach a high-court judge who refused to keep her office open after hours to allow a last-minute death penalty appeal. Rep. Lon Burnam presented HR 480, a resolution to consider the impeachment of Sharon Keller, Presiding Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, according to an article [...
Immigration Caseload Strains Judges
Posted on February 17, 2009Immigration judges are struggling to handle the sudden influx of cases, an NPR article reports. As the Bush administration made a concentrated effort to reduce illegal immigration, the subsequent increase in arrests and prosecutions has become a challenging task for the immigration judges that oversee those cases...
Texas Chief Justice Calls for Merit Selection
Posted on February 17, 2009The Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice has advocated merit selection over elections for the state judiciary, saying “the status quo is broken,” according to an article by The Southeast Texas Record. In his State of the Judiciary address to the state legislature, Texas Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson echoed former U...
Madison Center?s ?Bogeyman? Defense
Posted on February 17, 2009A New York Times article on the landmark case of Caperton v. Massey quotes a claim that the real goal of the landmark appeal is to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to eliminate judicial elections as inherently unconstitutional. Even as legal bogeymen go, this one suggests that special interests are getting awfully worried that they’re going to be [...
Blankenship?s Defense: ?Politicians Don?t Stay Bought?
Posted on February 16, 2009A Sunday New York Times article, containing a rare interview with West Virginia coal executive Don Blankenship, brings attention to two important points about Caperton v. Massey, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court on the impact of special interest money on impartial courts...
links for 2009-02-14
Posted on February 14, 2009ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Texas Chief Justice: Abolish Judicial Elections Podcast on Justice Ginsburg and the future of the Court | SCOTUSblog Law Blog - WSJ.com : Pennsylvania Judges Plead Guilty in Juvenile-Center Kickback Scheme ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Term Limits v...
links for 2009-02-12
Posted on February 12, 2009ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Balkin Reiterates Call for "Truth Commission" ImmigrationProf Blog: Debate Over Video In Immigration Courts Sentencing Law and Policy: On-the-scene report on the US Sentencing Commission regional hearings in Atlanta The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Federal Judge Says Courts Cannot Rule On Detainee Treatment Guantánamo Detainee?s Campaign Reaches to [...
links for 2009-02-11
Posted on February 11, 2009The Associated Press: Attorney seeks detainee release from Guantanamo Big money bad in Wisconsin Supreme Court race COUNTERPOINT: West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Responds to 'Legislators Perception of Fairness' - Huntington News Network Teenage terrorist or confused kid — Gitmo's youngest prisoner - CNN...
links for 2009-02-10
Posted on February 10, 2009Connecticut Law Tribune: Retiring Judge Shines Light On Pay Issue South Bend Tribune: Keep judicial merit system Greenwood Commonwealth > News > Top Stories > Does a judge have freedom of speech, regardless of content? O_Connor to run for Ohio chief justice | The Journal Gazette Ending the judge wars - Los Angeles Times Harvard Political Review - Impartial Intentions [...
Wisconsin Partner Unveils New Website on Courts
Posted on February 10, 2009The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC) has launched a new website, www.impartialjustice.org, dedicated to fighting threats against the state?s justice system, specifically the state Supreme Court. Through brochures and videos, the site outlines the increasingly disturbing role of special interests in judicial elections, warning that ?Wisconsin is courting disaster...
L.A. Times to Obama: Time to Depoliticize Judicial Appointments
Posted on February 09, 2009The Los Angeles Times has offered recommendations to President Obama regarding ways to avoid partisan bickering over the appointment and confirmaton of federal judges. With 60 federal judgeships currently vacant around the country — 20 of which are considered an “emergency” — avoiding deadlock in the Senate takes on increased importance...
Civil Liberties Groups Argue Against Proposition 8
Posted on February 07, 2009Two American Constitution Society blogs engage in the ongoing controversy over California?s Proposition 8, the recently enacted anti-gay marriage law, and the lead case challenging it, Strauss v. Horton. According to the American Constitution Society, the California Supreme Court, which ruled last year that gay men and lesbians can marry, is considering whether Proposition 8, which amends California’s constitution, [...
Indiana Lawmakers Debate Judicial Elections
Posted on February 07, 2009Indiana’s legislature is moving in opposite directions on the question of whether counties should elect or appoint their judges, an article from wndu.com reports. By an 11-0 vote, a House committee endorsed legislation to elect local judges in St...
18 Amicus Briefs Filed in Al-Marri Case
Posted on February 07, 2009A total of 18 amicus briefs have been filed on behalf of Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, a Qatari national arrested in 2001 in Illinois in the government’s investigation of the attacks on 9/11. Since that time, Al-Marri has been held in a South Carolina military brig without charges...
Merit Selection to be Introduced in Penn. Legislature
Posted on February 07, 2009Merit selection legislation will be introduced in this session, a blog by the Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts (PMC) reports. A state representative and senator have confirmed that this reform will be introduced to address specific problems in judicial elections...
links for 2009-02-07
Posted on February 07, 2009LegalNewsline | Wisconsin chief justice has 56-1 fundraising advantage Recusals Urged In Cases Of Substantial Election Contributions judgesonmerit.org » Praising Merit in Wisconsin JURIST - Paper Chase: Military commissions review court grants government continuance in Jawad case Justice Ginsburg undergoes surgery for pancreatic cancer | SCOTUSblog Group finds problems with campaign finance site - JSOnline "Scalia's Temper Rises Again" — How [...
Updates from Wisconsin
Posted on February 07, 2009With just two months until Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson holds a big fund-raising edge over challenger Randy Koschnick, according to news reports. According to the Daily Cardinal, Abrahamson raised over $800,000 by the end of 2008, while her Koschnick, a district judge, had raised $14,000...
Alabama Supreme Court Race Among Most Expensive
Posted on February 07, 2009In its final reporting on campaign expenditures, Alabama remained among the ranks of the nation’s most expensive states for state Supreme Court elections, with an estimated $5.3 million spent by the official campaigns and outside groups. According to an article in The Birmingham News, candidates Deborah Bell Paseur and newly elected Greg Shaw spent a total [...
Gitmo Closure Oversight to be Included in Homeland Security Bill
Posted on February 06, 2009House Homeland Security Members will include an oversight of President Obama’s intent to close Guantanamo Bay in their annual authorization bill. The bill will authorize the Department of Homeland Security to continue to exist and determine its policy for the year...
Utah State Senator Renamed Chair After Blast at Judge
Posted on February 06, 2009Utah state Senator Chris Buttars will once again be named chairman of the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee, even though he was removed from the same position last year, according to an article in The Salt Lake Tribune. Buttars lost his chairmanship during the 2008 legislative session after a scathing letter from Buttars to 4th District Judge [...
Wash. State Judge Calls for Prosecution of Bush Officials
Posted on February 06, 2009Richard Sanders, the Washington State Supreme Court justice who gained attention when he publicly screamed “Tyrant!” at then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey, has written a column in the Seattle Times, calling for a full investigation and, as needed, criminal prosecution of Bush administration officials for alleged violations of civil liberties...
links for 2009-02-06
Posted on February 06, 2009ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Calif. High Court To Hear Arguments Over Prop. 8 Legal Wide support for Al-Marri | SCOTUSblog Jawad torture case put on hold | SCOTUSblog judgesonmerit.org » Merit Selection on the Agenda in Pennsylvania ImmigrationProf Blog: EOIR Director to be Holder's Chief of Staff FindLaw's Writ - Tobias: How President Obama Can Set [...
links for 2009-02-05
Posted on February 05, 2009azdailysun.com Top Stories Vt. judiciary won't replace judge position - Bennington Banner Fear and Hate Policies Along the Border: R.I.P. - NAM Prosecuting Terrorism: Beyond Obama?s Order to Close Guantanamo
W.Va. Chief Justice Benjamin Removes Self From a Massey Case
Posted on February 05, 2009West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Benjamin has recused himself from a case involving Massey Energy, saying it would be ?personally and judicially disrespectful? to the United States Supreme Court to remain involved while the Court waits to hear oral arguments on Caperton v...
Calls for Immigration Reform, Due Process Concerns
Posted on February 05, 2009Two commentaries have likened conditions for captured immigrants to those of detainees at Guantanamo, and called on the new administration to improve the hearing process used in illegal-immigration cases. ?Just as President Barack Obama has ordered a review of the cases at Guantanamo, it is high time that he take a look at the immigrants who [...
links for 2009-02-04
Posted on February 04, 2009Koschnick campaign says it raised $50,000, but only $14,715 in '08 - JSOnline judgesonmerit.org » Alabama Sets Spending Record; What Will Happen in PA This Fall? Legal History Blog: Long on a the history of judicial selection in Virginia and West Virginia Lincoln Walks At Midnight: Benjamin Off Massey Cases Legal Pad: Fellow Judges Honor Ron Whyte ? With [...
links for 2009-02-03
Posted on February 03, 2009Law Blog - WSJ.com : States and Judicial Recusal: Alabama AG Troy King Has His Say . What Types of Judicial Nominees Can We Expect from Obama? — Balkinization ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: Federal Judge Denies Shield For Supports of Calif...
Background Information on our New Attorney General
Posted on February 02, 2009With the full Senate having confirmed Eric Holder as President Obama’s attorney general today, we at Justice at Stake thought some background information on the nation’s new top lawyer was appropriate. Holder is no stranger to the Department of Justice...
Wisc. League of Women Voters Issues Judicial Candidates Guide
Posted on February 02, 2009The 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, 2009judgesonmerit.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, 2009Today?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...
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, 2009The 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, 2009The 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, 2009The 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, 2009Judge 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, 2009judgesonmerit.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, 2009Three 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, 2009USA 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, 2009As 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, 2009The 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, 2009West 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, 2009Obama?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, 2009A 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, 2009In 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, 2009Justice 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, 2009judgesonmerit.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, 2009In 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, 2009Above 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, 2009Court 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, 2009On 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, 2009JURIST - 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, 2009The 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, 2009A 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, 2009Judiciary: 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 [...
Update on Wisconsin Supreme Court Race
Posted on January 13, 2009A wispolitics.com article noted that former Supreme Court Justice Donald Steinmetz has declared his endorsement of Judge Randy Koschnick, who is hoping to be elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He will be running a difficult campaign against incumbent Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who has served on the court since 1976...
Director of West Virginia Group Advocates Nonpartisan Elections
Posted on January 13, 2009With the increased negativity surrounding the Caperton v. Massey case, the leader of a West Virginia group opposing ?lawsuit abuse? has joined the call to make the state?s judicial elections nonpartisan. In an opinion column in The West Virginia Record, Steve Cohen, executive director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, proclaimed his desire that ?lawmakers [...
links for 2009-01-13
Posted on January 13, 2009judgesonmerit.org » Philadelphia Inquirer: Let Voters Decide Whether to Change the System Lincoln Walks At Midnight: W.Va. Supreme Court Starts New Term Tuesday Op-Ed Contributor - Prosecute Officials Who Authorized Torture - NYTimes.com (Dahlia Lithwick) Think Progress » Kansas Politicians Standing In The Way Of Closing Gitmo Obama: Gitmo Will Take Time to Close - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime One [...
Deportation Ruling Encroaches on Courts
Posted on January 10, 2009NOTE: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY WAS WRITTEN BY DEANNA DAWSON, JUSTICE AT STAKE’S NEW DIRECTOR OF FEDERAL AFFAIRS. In a move decried by immigrants? rights lawyers as a ?midnight” change and an example of ?disregard for fundamental principles of due process of law,? Attorney General Michael Mukasey issued a decision this week limiting the rights of immigrants to [...
links for 2009-01-10
Posted on January 10, 2009Votelaw, Edward Still's blog on law and politics: R.I.P.: Charles Morgan Jr. "The Chief Justice on the Spot– How Appealing Disgusted Beyond Belief: A New Era Begins on Michigan Supreme Court
links for 2009-01-09
Posted on January 09, 2009judgesonmerit.org » PMC and Partners to the United States Supreme Court: ?Money is a Big Problem? Analysis: Some overseas extension of habeas? | SCOTUSblog What About Bush's Judicial Nominees? — Balkinization Bush Justice Department Continues Harassment Campaign Against Tamm?By Scott Horton (Harper's Magazine) "Judge in Texas pleads innocent to new sex charges" — How Appealing JURIST - Paper Chase: Federal [...
Ruling on Bagram Detainees Is a Surprise
Posted on January 08, 2009Following a federal judge?s surprise ruling in a case involving detainees held in Afghanistan, Deanna Dawson, Justice at Stake?s new Director of Federal Affairs, wrote the following report: In 2008, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Boumediene v...
In Nevada, Swifter Justice for Misbehaving Judges?
Posted on January 08, 2009Nevada’s Judicial Discipline Commission Process is too slow, and needs to make its process more open, according to a state judicial reform panel and a Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial. According to a newspaper report, the state’s Article 6 Commission, a blue-ribbon panel appointed by the state Supreme Court to review all aspects of the state’s court operations, said the [...
Partisanship Gets New Blessing in Ohio
Posted on January 08, 2009Ohio judicial races are taking a further step down the path of open politicization. As of March 15, 2009, Ohio judges will be allowed to advertise their political party affiliations during general elections, according to this Associated Press article...
More Reporting, Commentary on Caperton
Posted on January 08, 2009Legal Newsline has done a thorough report on the briefs in the Caperton v. Massey case, particularly by the Conference of Chief Justices and a brief by 27 former state chief justices and justices. As the article’s title notes, ”W.Va. Chief Justice Benjamin not receiving much support in Massey recusal issue,” the briefs by top jurists affirm that [...
links for 2009-01-08
Posted on January 08, 2009Appeals Court justice receives public scolding | pnj.com | Pensacola News Journal Lincoln Walks At Midnight: Benjamin Gets it from All Sides in Massey Case Tuesday, January 6, 2009 "Specter Attacks Choice for Attorney General": This article will appear Wednesday in The New York Times...
An Extraordinary Day in Caperton Case
Posted on January 07, 2009Caperton v. Massey, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case on campaign spending in judicial elections, has produced an extraordinary outpouring of commentary and legal analysis on why the current status quo of runaway special-interest spending poses a historic threat to fair, impartial courts in America...
links for 2009-01-07
Posted on January 07, 2009Text & History » Supreme Court Will Hear a Tale of CEOs, Judges,? and Fugitive Slaves (Note: Justice at Stake Mentioned) Fair Pay for Judges - washingtonpost.com Lincoln Walks At Midnight: Former Justices Fault Benjamin in Massey Case judgesonmerit...
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