Author

Luke Seeley

Luke Seeley is a staff writer at Ballotpedia. Contact us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Three Arizona Supreme Court justices seek retention in November

By Luke Seeley
In State
July 21, 2020 at 2:12 PM
Arizona Supreme Court Justices Robert Brutinel, Andrew W. Gould, and John Lopez IV are all standing for retention election on November 3, 2020. Lopez and Gould were both appointed by current Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R), while Brutinel was appointed by former Governor Jan Brewer (R).
Currently, all seven judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor: five appointed by Ducey and two by Brewer.
Each of Arizona’s seven justices is appointed by the governor from a list of names compiled by the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. The commission is chaired by the Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice and has four vacancies as of April.
A newly appointed justice’s term is at least two years, after which the justice must stand in a retention election. Subsequent terms last six years. Since 2008 across the country, state supreme court justices facing retention elections have won 98% of the time. In Arizona, no justices have lost a retention election in this time frame.


State supreme court justices in retention elections have a 98% win rate since 2008

By Luke Seeley
In State
July 15, 2020 at 10:26 AM
Image of several stickers with the words "I voted"

In retention elections, voters are asked whether an incumbent should remain in office for another term. The incumbent does not face an opponent and is removed from the position if a majority vote against retention.

State supreme court justices facing retention elections experienced better chances of being re-elected than their incumbent counterparts in other kinds of elections. Since 2008, 155 state supreme court justices have faced retention elections. Incumbent justices won 152 (98%) of these elections. In that same time period, incumbent justices in non-retention elections have faced 196 elections. The incumbent justices won 176 (90%) of these elections. Incumbent justices in all types of election experienced a 93% win rate.

In this time period, Iowa is the only state that has held retention elections in which justices were not retained. Iowa supreme court justices Marsha K. Ternus, Michael J. Streit and David Baker lost their retention elections in 2010. This followed their participation in a decision to remove the state ban on same-sex marriage. The three justices ruled in favor of removing the ban in the 2009 case Varnum v. Brien, resulting in campaigning against their retention by groups opposed to the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Ternus was appointed by Republican Governor Terry Branstad while Baker and Streit were appointed by Democratic governors. They were replaced by Bruce Zager, Thomas Waterman, and Edward Mansfield, all three of whom were appointed by Republican governor Terry Branstad in 2011. Zager’s seat was filled in 2018 by Susan Christensen, who was appointed by Republican Governor Susan Reynolds.

Additional reading:


Two West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals justices win reelection

By Luke Seeley
In State
June 16, 2020 at 11:42 AM

Three West Virginia Supreme Court seats were up for nonpartisan election on June 9. The general election for the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, along with West Virginia’s statewide primary election, was originally scheduled for May 12. Governor Jim Justice (R) postponed the election in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Two incumbent justices were seeking re-election while one justice did not seek re-election. Receiving 41% of the vote, incumbent Justice Tim Armstead defeated Richard Neely and David W. Hummel Jr. Incumbent Justice John A. Hutchison defeated Lora Dyer and William Schwartz with 39.2% of the vote.

Incumbent Margaret Workman did not seek re-election. William Wooton, a former Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, won the seat with 31% of the vote. He defeated Joanna I. Tabit, Kris Raynes, and Jim Douglas. Wooton will take office in January 2021.

As of May 2020, three judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor, while two were first elected in partisan elections, one as a Democrat, and one as a Republican.

Additional reading:


Four Mississippi Supreme Court seats up for election in November

By Luke Seeley
In State
June 1, 2020 at 10:22 PM

Four Mississippi Supreme Court justices are facing non-partisan elections on November 3, 2020. Incumbent Justice T. Kenneth Griffis is opposed by Mississippi Court of Appeals Justice Latrice Westbrooks. Incumbent Justice Josiah Coleman is opposed by Third Chancery District Justice Percy L. Lynchard. Leslie King and Mike Randolph are both running unopposed.

Currently, five judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor and four judges were initially selected in a nonpartisan election.

The nine justices on the Mississippi Supreme Court are each elected to eight-year terms in nonpartisan general elections. There are no primary elections for judicial candidates in Mississippi. Justices must face re-election if they wish to serve again.

The governor names a temporary judge whenever a midterm vacancy occurs on the court. If four or fewer years of the term remain, the appointed justice serves out the remainder of the term. If more than four years are remaining, the appointee will run in the next general election, taking place nine months or more after the vacancy occurs, and then serve the remainder of the term.

Additional Reading:



One Indiana Supreme Court justice faces a retention election in November

By Luke Seeley
In State
May 26, 2020 at 11:50 PM

One Indiana Supreme Court justice, Christopher M. Goff, will face a retention election on November 3, 2020. He was appointed in 2017 by Governor Eric Holcomb (R).

Currently, every justice on the court was appointed by a Republican governor.

The governor appoints the five justices of the supreme court through a hybrid nominating commission where neither the governor nor the Indiana State Bar Association has majority control over the judicial nominating commission. The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications is made up of seven members: three lawyers (selected by bar members from that district), three non-lawyer members (appointed by the governor), and the chief justice of the supreme court who serves as chair.

When a vacancy occurs, the commission compiles a list of three names. The governor must then make his appointment from this list. Initially, justices serve for at least two years, after which they stand for retention during a regularly scheduled general election. If they are retained, justices serve terms that last ten years.

See also:



One South Dakota Supreme Court justice faces a retention election in November

By Luke Seeley
In State
May 15, 2020 at 4:56 PM

One South Dakota Supreme Court justice, Steven Jensen, will face a retention election on November 3, 2020. He was appointed in 2017 by Governor Dennis Daugaard (R).

Currently, every justice on the court was appointed by a Republican governor.

The governor appoints the five justices of the supreme court through a hybrid nominating commission where neither the governor nor the South Dakota State Bar Association has majority control. The South Dakota Judicial Qualifications Commission is made up of seven members: two judges, three lawyers and two members of the public. The judges are elected by the Judicial Conference, the lawyers are chosen by the state bar association, and the members of the public are appointed by the governor.

When a vacancy occurs, the commission compiles a list of at least two names. The governor must then make his appointment from this list. Initially, justices serve for at least three years, after which they stand for retention during a regularly scheduled general election. If they are retained, justices serve terms that last eight years.

See also:


One Kansas Supreme Court justice faces retention election in November

By Luke Seeley
In State
May 12, 2020 at 4:13 PM

One Kansas Supreme Court justice, Eric Rosen, will face a retention election on November 3, 2020. He was appointed by a Democratic governor.

Currently, two justices on the court were appointed by a Republican governor while four were appointed by a Democratic governor.

The governor appoints the seven justices of the supreme court through a bar-controlled nominating commission. The governor selects four non-lawyer members while members of the Kansas State Bar Association elect five lawyer members. Four of the lawyer members are elected by bar members in each congressional district while the fifth is elected by bar members statewide.

When a vacancy opens on the court, the commission must nominate individuals to fill the empty seat. The commission nominates potential justices and then interviews the nominees publicly. Next, a majority of the commission decides privately on the most qualified candidates to recommend to the governor for appointment. Following its decision, the commission sends the governor a list of three names from which he must make his selection. The appointed justice then faces a retention election in the next statewide general election taking place at least 12 months after the justice assumed office and each subsequent six years.



One Missouri Supreme Court justice faces retention election in November

By Luke Seeley
In State
May 4, 2020 at 10:53 PM

Missouri Supreme Court Justice Patricia Breckenridge will face a retention election on November 3, 2020. She is the only member of the court facing a retention election this year. She was originally appointed by a Republican governor in 2007 and won a retention election in 2008.

Currently, two justices on the court were appointed by a Republican governor while five were appointed by a Democratic governor.

The governor appoints the seven justices of the supreme court through a hybrid nominating commission where neither the governor nor the Missouri State Bar Association has majority control over the judicial nominating commission. The governor selects three non-lawyer members, while the state bar selects three lawyer members. The Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission is chaired by the chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court.

When a vacancy occurs, the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission compiles a list of candidates and narrows that list to three choices. The governor must appoint a new judge from that list of three choices. After new justices have been appointed, the must face retention elections in the next general election occurring one to three years after they take office. They serve twelve-year terms if they are retained.



Four Iowa Supreme Court justices face a retention election in November

By Luke Seeley
In State
April 28, 2020 at 12:15 PM


Four Iowa Supreme Court justices will face retention elections on November 3, 2020. The justices facing retention are Susan Christensen, Edward Mansfield, Christopher McDonald, and Thomas Waterman. All four justices were appointed by a Republican governor.

Currently, six justices on the court were appointed by a Republican governor while one was appointed by a Democratic governor.

In Iowa, judicial nominees are selected by the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission. The commission puts together a list of candidates they have determined to be qualified and then submits this list to the governor. The Governor must then choose one of the candidates from the list. The justice must stand for a retention election one year after the appointment. If retained, justices serve for eight years with a mandatory retirement age of 72.

Additional Reading:
Judicial selection in Iowa
Susan Christensen
Edward Mansfield
Christopher McDonald
Thomas Waterman



Two Nebraska Supreme Court justices face retention elections in November

By Luke Seeley
In State
April 22, 2020 at 10:34 AM

Two Nebraska Supreme Court justices, Lindsey Miller-Lerman and Jeffrey Funke will face retention elections on November 3, 2020. Justice Funke was appointed in 2016 by Governor Pete Ricketts (R), while justice Miller-Lerman was appointed in 1998 by Governor Ben Nelson (D).

As of September 2019, six Justices on the court were appointed by a Republican governor, and one judge was appointed by a Democratic governor.

• William Cassel: Appointed by Gov. Dave Heineman (R) in 2012.
• John Freudenberg: Appointed by Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) in 2018.
• Jeffrey Funke: Appointed by Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) in 2016.
• Michael Heavican: Appointed by Gov. Dave Heineman (R) in 2006.
• Lindsey Miller-Lerman: Appointed by Gov. Ben Nelson (D) in 1998.
• Jonathan Papik: Appointed by Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) in 2018.
• Stephanie Stacy: Appointed by Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) in 2015.

Justices are appointed by the governor through a hybrid nominating commission where neither the governor nor the Nebraska State Bar Association has majority control. The Nebraska Judicial Nominating Commission is made up of four lawyers selected by the Nebraska State Bar Association and four non-lawyers selected by the governor. The commission is chaired by a Nebraska Supreme Court justice who cannot vote.

When vacancies occur, the commission interviews candidates to fill the empty seat on the court. The commission chooses at least two candidates to submit to the governor, who has 60 days to make an appointment. If the governor does not appoint someone in time, the chief justice is responsible for choosing one of the commission’s nominees.

Justices seeking to keep their seats must run in retention elections in the first general election occurring more than three years after their initial appointment by the governor. Justices are then subject to retention every six years. There is no mandatory retirement age for supreme court justices in Nebraska.

Additional Reading:
Nebraska Supreme Court
Judicial selection in Nebraska
Jeffrey Funke
Lindsey Miller Lerman