Litigation

links for 2009-02-18

Posted on February 18, 2009
Impartial 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, 2009
     An 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, 2009
    A 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, 2009
   Immigration 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...

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Texas Chief Justice Calls for Merit Selection

Posted on February 17, 2009
   The 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, 2009
A 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, 2009
A 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, 2009
ACSBlog: 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, 2009
ACSBlog: 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
Connecticut 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
      The 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, 2009
Two 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, 2009
    Indiana’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, 2009
A 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, 2009
Merit 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, 2009
LegalNewsline | 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, 2009
With 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, 2009
In 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, 2009
House 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, 2009
Utah 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, 2009
Richard 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, 2009
ACSBlog: 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, 2009
azdailysun.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, 2009
West 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, 2009
Two 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, 2009
Koschnick 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, 2009
Law 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, 2009
With 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...

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