Category: State
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Ballotpedia publishes state court partisanship study
Each state has at least one supreme court, or court of last resort. Oklahoma and Texas each have two such courts, one for civil appeals and one for criminal appeals. Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship—a culmination of eight months of research and compilation of raw data—supplies Partisan Confidence Scores for 341 active state supreme court justices on all…
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New York Court of Appeals Justice Eugene Fahey announces retirement
On November 10, 2020, State of New York Court of Appeals Justice Eugene Fahey announced his retirement from the court, scheduled for December 31, 2021, when he reaches the court’s mandatory retirement age of 70 years old. Justice Fahey joined the State of New York Court of Appeals in 2015. He was appointed to the…
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California governor confirms Jenkins to state supreme court
The California State Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed Martin Jenkins to the California Supreme Court on November 10, 2020. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) appointed Jenkins on October 5. Jenkins succeeds Justice Ming Chin, who retired on August 31. Jenkins is Newsom’s first appointee to the seven-member supreme court. Under California law, state supreme court justices…
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Wiley defeats Khanin in special election for Virginia House of Delegates District 29
A special general election was held for Virginia House of Delegates District 29 on November 3, 2020. Bill Wiley (R) defeated Irina Khanin (D), earning 63.7% of the vote to Khanin’s 36.2%. The special election was called after Chris Collins (R) resigned on June 28, 2020, to serve on the Virginia 26th Judicial District Court.…
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Ballotpedia study shows that 25 state APAs and constitutions specify qualifications for administrative agency leaders
A Ballotpedia survey of all 50 state constitutions and administrative procedure acts (APAs) revealed that 25 state APAs and constitutions specify qualifications for administrative agency leaders and the other half of the states do not specify any required qualifications as of November 2020. Administrative agency leaders are those who direct the activities of state agencies.…
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Signatures due Friday in Colorado governor recall effort
Supporters of the effort to recall Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) have until November 13 to submit 631,266 signatures to require a recall election. The recall was approved for circulation by Colorado’s secretary of state on September 14. The recall effort is being organized by Lori Ann Cutunilli and Greg Merschel. Last year, Merschel was…
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Two Alabama state legislative special elections on the ballot Nov. 17
Special elections for two seats in the Alabama State Legislature are on the ballot on November 17, 2020. In District 26 of the state Senate, six candidates are competing in a special Democratic primary to advance to the special general election on March 2, 2021. The Republican nominee, William Green, was the only candidate to…
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Arkansas Supreme Court clarifies deference prohibition
The Arkansas Supreme Court on October 29 clarified in American Honda Motor Co. v. Walther that state courts should not exercise deference to state agency interpretations of statutes. Instead, the court held that Arkansas state courts should review agency statutory interpretations de novo—without deference to a previous interpretation of the underlying statute in question. The court’s decision…
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33 committees supporting and opposing Colorado’s 11 November ballot measures raised over $59 million, spent over $57 million
Thirty-three committees registered to support and oppose the eleven measures that appeared on the Nov. 3 ballot in Colorado. The 33 committees raised $59,164,321.52 and spent $57,392,791.82 according to reports due on November 2 that covered election information through October 28. The next regular reports are due on December 3. Eight of these 11 measures…
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Justice on New York's highest court schedules retirement
On November 3, 2020, State of New York Court of Appeals Justice Leslie Stein announced her retirement from the court, scheduled for June 4, 2021. At the time of the announcement, no reason for Stein’s retirement was given. Justice Stein joined the State of New York Court of Appeals in 2015. She was appointed to…