Newly re-elected Justice Paul Newby of the North Carolina Supreme Court is the target of a recusal motion in a redistricting case. Plaintiffs seeking his recusal contend that he had major funding from groups with a direct stake in the case. See Gavel Grab for more.
"These are distinctly frightening times-especially for those of us who believe judicial elections should be different from other elections and that it is important to maintain both the appearance and actuality of impartial justice."
Rick Hasen and Dahlia Lithwick
Rick Hasen and Dahlia Lithwick
Recent Fair-Courts Articles
The dominant role of special-interest groups in an election cycle of record-breaking state judicial election spending has “severely weakened the principle of fair and impartial courts,” a New York Times editorial says. For more, see Gavel Grab.
Before his Ohio Supreme Court election victory, Bill O'Neill was warned by the Ohio State Bar Association over his in-your-face campaign statements -- yet O'Neill still insists that justice is for sale. Read Gavel Grab for more.
A divide has surfaced among Republican senators over whether to confirm some of President Obama’s judicial nominees in the lame-duck session, See Gavel Grab for more.
Although Election Day showed deep division in America, voters delivered a true mandate on one front: “[T]hey want their judiciary to be nonpartisan,” JAS Executive Director Bert Brandenburg wrote in Slate. For more, see Gavel Grab.
If massive automatic federal budget cuts set for January are not averted, the result "would be disastrous" for the judiciary, Justice at Stake said in a letter to congressional leaders. Find out details from Gavel Grab.
Justice at Stake is asking Senate leaders to take “prompt action” on all pending judicial nominees and is urging bipartisan cooperation to hold up-or-down votes during the upcoming lame duck session. For more, see Gavel Grab.
Organized campaigns to remove three Florida Supreme Court justices and one Iowa justice were rejected by voters in those states on Tuesday. Find out more from Gavel Grab.
Americans overwhelmingly rejected big-money attempts to hijack their courts on Election Day, Justice at Stake and the Brennan Center for Justice said Wednesday. Read Gavel Grab for more.
Targeted state supreme court justices were retained by voters in Iowa and Florida retention elections, and voters in three states rejected ballot measures to change the way judges are chosen in merit-based selection systems. For more, see Gavel Grab.
On Tuesday, voters in Missouri, Arizona and Florida rejected ballot items proposing to change the way judges are chosen under merit-based judicial selection systems. Learn more from Gavel Grab.
Organized campaigns to remove three Florida Supreme Court justices and one Iowa justice were rejected by voters in those states on Tuesday. Find out details in Gavel Grab.
The North Carolina Supreme Court race has turned ugly. A super PAC aired an ad accusing candidate Judge Sam Ervin IV of ties to a former governor convicted of a crime. See Gavel Grab for more.
State Democratic and Republican parties have poured $10 million into the contest for the Michigan Supreme Court. Find out more from Gavel Grab.
Negative ads are playing an increasingly prominent role in judicial campaigns during the final days before Nov. 6, according to a joint analysis by Justice at Stake and the Brennan Center for Justice. For more, see Gavel Grab.
The campaign to defend three targeted Florida Supreme Court justices has expanded dramatically and is expected to spend $5.5 million, a Florida newspaper reported. Learn more from Gavel Grab.
Americans for Prosperity unveiled a $250,000 campaign to send direct mail postcards urging North Carolina voters voters to “call [Justice] Paul Newby and tell him to continue standing up for the rights of taxpayers." Gavel Grab has more.
Fifty-three percent of Iowans who are likely to vote say they will support retention of Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins, and 30 percent plan to vote “no,” according to a new poll. Read Gavel Grab for more.
Michigan Supreme Court candidate Bridget McCormack is criticized in a TV attack ad for offering to provide legal representation to detainees suspected of terrorism. See Gavel Grab for details.
With a couple of exceptions, a retention election involving three Florida Supreme Court justices has become " a high-stakes political contest unlike any [the state] has ever seen,” the Washington Post reported. Find out more from Gavel Grab.
A super PAC working to reelect North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby has spent $1.3 million on TV advertising. Check out Gavel Grab for details.
The Michigan Supreme Court election looks like it will be "the nation's most costly and least transparent," with 75 percent of all spending hidden from public view, the Michigan Campaign Finance Network said. Find out more from Gavel Grab.
A state Supreme Court retention election is making headlines in still another state. Incumbent Justice John Pelander has set up a campaign committee to defend against a GOP and tea party effort to unseat him in Arizona. See details at Gavel Grab.
The Ohio State Bar Association chastised a GOP TV ad saying a state Supreme Court candidate “sympathizes with rapists,” and the Republican incumbent justice supported by the ad asked the GOP to pull it. For more, see Gavel Grab.
TV ad spending for state supreme court races this election season has climbed to $13.5 million, more than was spent in all of 2010, according to Justice at Stake and the Brennan Center for Justice. For more, see Gavel Grab.
