Justice at Stake Deputy Executive Director Liz Seaton issued the following statement regarding Texas, Missouri, and other states considering legislation to prosecute officials – including judges – who enforce federal firearms law.
"Judges must be perceived as beyond price. When litigants go to court they ... do not want the umpire calling balls and strikes before the game has begun."
Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice
Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice
Press Releases
Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg issued the following statement regarding Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s support of HB2805—which enabled it to become state law on May 1—that makes public financing a permanent part of elections for West Virginia’s Supreme Court.
Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg reacted today to a proposal by Iowa legislators to slash pay for state Supreme Court justices involved in invalidating a ban on marriage for same-sex couples. Two state lawmakers have proposed a constitutional amendment to cut the justices’ pay by 85 percent. Brandenburg issued the following statement.
North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections (NCVCE) and Justice at Stake (JAS) today announced the launch of a collaborative effort dedicated to keeping North Carolina courts free of political and special-interest pressure by preserving the state’s public financing for judicial elections.
The Board of Directors of Justice at Stake is pleased and privileged to welcome retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, one of the nation’s leading voices for fair and impartial courts, as the organization’s first Honorary Chair. Justice O’Connor’s formal affiliation with JAS was announced today by JAS Board Chairman Mark Harrison.
Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg issued the following statement regarding the passage of HB2805 making public financing a permanent part of elections for West Virginia’s Supreme Court.
Television spending in this year’s race for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court topped $1.1 million, with nearly 70 percent of spending coming from conservative interest groups, according to estimates released by the Brennan Center for Justice and Justice at Stake.
Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg reacted today to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback’s signing of House Bill 2019, which changes the way state Court of Appeals judges are chosen from a merit selection process to a Washington-style process of direct gubernatorial appointment with Senate confirmation.
Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg reacted today to four former Pennsylvania governors’ call for the state to transition to a merit selection system for choosing appellate court judges.
Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg reacted today to Senate passage of Kansas HB 2019, changing the way state Court of Appeals judges are chosen. Governor Brownback has indicated he will sign the bill.
Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg issued the following statement upon the passage of SJR 02: Proposed amendment of Article VI, Section 3 of the Tennessee Constitution to provide for gubernatorial appointment of appellate judges, subject to legislative confirmation, followed by retention elections.
Bert Brandenburg, executive director of Justice at Stake, released the following statement on the subject of sequestration and its effects on the courts.
Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg issued the following statement after the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in a campaign finance case, Danielczyk vs. U.S.
A jury’s conviction of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin on corruption charges today highlights the need for changing the way judges are selected in Pennsylvania, said Justice at Stake, a nonpartisan group that works to keep courts fair and impartial.
Special interest spending dominated this week’s primary for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, with the conservative Wisconsin Club for Growth spending more than $300,000 on television advertisements in support of incumbent Justice Pat Roggensack.
Attorney Mark I. Harrison of Phoenix, Arizona, board chairman of Justice at Stake, will be honored by the American Bar Association Feb. 8 for making a significant, positive impact on public understanding of the role of the judiciary in a democratic society.
Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg made the following statement about Senate action to change filibuster procedure.
A new poll commissioned by Justice at Stake, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to the preservation of fair and impartial courts, finds that 61 percent of Kansas voters—including majorities of Republicans and Democrats—oppose amending the state Constitution to change the way in which Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected. The findings come as the Kansas legislature begins hearings on a major change proposed to the state’s merit selection system.
Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg made the following statement on Tuesday about the process for filling a new vacancy on the Michigan Supreme Court.
Justice at Stake, a nonpartisan group that works to keep courts fair and impartial, is pleased to announce the hiring of a new Deputy Executive Director for Development and a Director of Communications and Public Education in its Washington, D.C. headquarters.
TV ad spending in state Supreme Court elections reached a record breaking $29.7 million on more than 51,000 ads this year, surpassing the previous record of $24.4 million spent in 2004, according to new data provided by TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG and released by the Brennan Center for Justice and Justice at Stake. Ten states saw races where TV ad spending exceeded $1 million (Ala., Fla., Ill., La., Mich., Miss., N.C., Ohio, Texas, W.Va.).
“When Gov. Perdue created a Judicial Nominating Commission in 2011, she said, ‘There is no place for politics when it comes to choosing the state’s most honored and influential legal servants.’ She was right.
“Today, we call on the Senate to act quickly to schedule and hold up-or-down votes on pending judicial nominees. Our courts should not be held hostage to partisan politics. This remains just as true for the lame-duck session as for any other time of the legislative year. We are pleased that some members of both parties realize the gravity of the situation: Not only Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, but also Republicans such as Sens. Susan Collins, Tom Coburn, James Inhofe, Olympia Snowe, and Pat Toomey have called for votes on nominees. We urge these senators to push for prompt action.
Americans overwhelmingly rejected big-money attempts to hijack their courts on Election Day. The 2012 campaign saw record spending in state Supreme Court races, with Super PACs and other outside groups spending millions on TV ads and mailers seeking to influence judicial races. At the same time, voters rebuffed a series of costly campaigns seeking to make courts accountable to partisans and special interests, ignoring calls to unseat judges over their decisions, and rejecting referenda in three states designed to give politicians more power over the courts.
An explosion of outside spending in North Carolina’s Supreme Court election threatens to erode public confidence in fair and impartial courts, Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg said today.
