In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from December 31, 2024, to January 31, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
Announced retirements:
Since last month’s state supreme court vacancy count, two justices have stepped down before their regularly scheduled term end date, and one announced retirement.
- Chief Justice Nathan Hecht retired from the Texas Supreme Court on December 31, 2024. Hecht was first elected to the court in 1988. He served as associate justice until 2013, when he was appointed by former Gov. Rick Perry (R) to serve as the chief justice. At the time of his retirement, Hecht was the longest-serving justice on the court in all of Texas history, serving over 35 years on the Texas Supreme Court.
- Chief Justice Peter J. Maassen retired from the Alaska Supreme Court on January 13, 2025. Maassen was initially appointed by former Gov. Sean Parnell (R) in 2012. He was retained by voters in 2016 to a term that was scheduled to end in 2026. Before his term ended, however, Maassen reached 70 years old—the mandatory retirement age for 16 states, including Alaska.
- Chief Justice Bernard Goodwyn announced on January 31, 2025 that he would step down from the Supreme Court of Virginia next year. The chief justice of the stated that he would retire from the court on January 1, 2026, making it the first state supreme court vacancy that Ballotpedia is tracking in 2026. Goodwyn was first appointed to the court in 2007, and then to the chief justice position in 2022.
Candidates nominated, appointed, and confirmed:
Five justices were appointed or nominated to their state’s highest court in January 2025.
- In Nebraska, Gov. Jim Pillen (R) appointed Jason Bergevin to the Nebraska Supreme Court on January 2, 2025. Bergevin was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the ascension of Jeffrey Funke to the chief justice position. Bergevin had served as a Nebraska district court judge since 2022.
- In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appointed Jimmy Blacklock to ascend to the chief justice position on January 6, 2025. Blacklock has served on the Texas Supreme Court since 2018 after being appointed by Abbott during his first term. Gov. Abbott also appointed James Sullivan to succeed Blacklock as an associate justice. Before his appointment, Sullivan served as the general counsel for the Office of the Texas Governor, a position Blacklock also held before his appointment to the court in 2018.
- In Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) nominated William H. Bright Jr. to the Connecticut Supreme Court. Bright will succeed Raheem L. Mullins, who ascended to the chief justice position in late 2024. Bright’s nomination was sent to the Connecticut General Assembly and must be confirmed by both houses before he takes office. As of January 31, 2025, his nomination had not been confirmed in either chamber. Bright has served on the Connecticut Appellate Court since 2017, following an appointment by former Gov. Dan Malloy (D).
- In Arizona, Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) appointed Maria Elena Cruz to the Arizona Supreme Court. This marks the first time a Democratic governor has appointed a justice to the state’s highest court in over 15 years. Cruz has served on the Arizona Court of Appeals since 2017 after being appointed to the position by former Gov. Doug Ducey (R). Cruz will be the first Latina and Black justice to serve on the state’s highest court. Cruz will take office in February 2025.
Justices sworn in:
In January 2025, three new justices took office, and four were sworn into new seats on the same court they served.
- In Arkansas, four justices were sworn into office on January 1, 2025. Two justices were already serving as associate justices but ran for different seats on the court in November 2024. Justice Karen R. Baker held associate justice Position 6 from 2011 until 2025. She won election to the chief justice position. Justice Courtney Rae Hudson held Position 3 on the court from 2011 until 2025. She won a special election for Position 2. Following Baker and Hudson’s wins in November 2024, Positions 3 and 6 were declared vacant, giving Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) her second and third opportunities to appoint justices to the Arkansas Supreme Court. In December 2024, she appointed Cody Hiland to Position 3 and Nicholas Bronni to Position 6. Hiland represented Position 2 since his initial appointment in 2023 but was ineligible to run for re-election in the special election. Bronni joined the court for the first time, previously serving as the Arkansas Solicitor General.
- In Texas, two justices were sworn in on January 6, 2025. Justice Jimmy Blacklock was sworn into the chief justice position, and James Sullivan was sworn in to fill Blacklock’s former justice position. Following Sullivan’s swearing-in, six of the nine justices on the Texas Supreme Court have been appointed by current Gov. Greg Abbott (R).
- In Alaska, Aimee Oravec was sworn into the Alaska Supreme Court on January 31, 2025. Oravec was appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) on November 27, 2024, to replace Chief Justice Peter J. Maassen. Since the chief justice is elected through a chamber vote, Oravec was appointed to an associate justice position. The Alaska Supreme Court held an election to decide the next chief justice in November 2024 and chose Susan Carney to succeed Maassen as chief justice. Following Oravec’s swearing-in, the state’s highest court has a majority of women justices for the first time.
Other news:
In Ohio, Joseph Deters (R) was sworn into his new seat on the Ohio Supreme Court. Deters was appointed in December 2022 by Gov. Mike DeWine (R) to replace Sharon L. Kennedy (R), who ascended to the chief justice position after winning a November 2022 election. Deters was appointed to an unexpired term that ended on December 31, 2024. Instead of running for re-election, Deters ran against incumbent Justice Melody Stewart (D), whose seat was also up for election in November 2024. Deters resigned from his previous seat on December 10, 2024, and took his new seat on January 2, 2025. Following Deter’s swearing-in, the Ohio Supreme Court consisted of six Republican justices and one Democratic justice. Before the November 2024 election, four of the justices were registered Republicans, and three were registered Democrats.
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