In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from November 2, 2024, to November 30, 2024. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
Announced retirements:
No justices retired from office or announced an upcoming retirement during November 2024.
Candidates nominated, appointed, and confirmed:
In November 2024, three state supreme courts released lists of applicants, semi-finalists, and finalists who will be sent to their respective governors for the final appointment. In Alaska, the Alaska Judicial Council sent a list of three finalists to Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) on November 8, 2024. Dunleavy has 45 days to appoint the finalist, who will be sworn in as an associate justice for a term of at least three years. Following her initial partial term, the appointed justice may stand for retention for a full 10-year term. All three finalists sent to Gov. Dunleavy were women, meaning that Alaska will have a majority-women court for the first time in the state’s history.
In Nebraska, the Nebraska Judicial Nominating Commission for the fifth state supreme court district released a list of candidates who had applied to fill the vacancy created by Justice Jeffrey Funke‘s ascension to the chief justice position earlier this month. The applicants include one appellate court judge and two district court judges. The Commission will screen applicants during its next meeting on December 12, 2024, and send a list of at least two finalists to Gov. Jim Pillen (R), who will make the final appointment.
In Arizona, the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments published a list of semi-finalists to replace former Justice Robert Brutinel, who retired in October 2024. On November 1, 2024, the Commission released a list of 17 candidates who had applied for the then-upcoming vacancy. On November 22, 2024, the Commission released a streamlined list of eight semi-finalists, who would proceed to the next stage of the appointment process. The eight candidates will be interviewed during a Commission meeting on December 9, 2024, during which the public can provide input on the candidates. Following the interview process, the Commission will send a list of at least three finalists to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), allowing her to make her first appointment to the state’s highest court.
Justices sworn in:
No justices were sworn into office to fill a vacancy during November 2024.
Other news:
On November 25, 2024, Associate Justice Susan Carney was elected to succeed Peter Maassen as chief justice following his retirement in January 2025. She will take office following Maassen’s retirement and serve a three-year term. She will be ineligible to run for a consecutive term. She will be able to run for chief justice again for the chief justice term starting in 2030. Alaska is one of 23 states nationwide that elect their chief justice through a chamber vote. Click here to learn how chief justices are selected in state supreme courts. When sworn in, Carney will serve as chief justice over the first majority-women supreme court in Alaskan state history.
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