Tag: courts
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Direct Legislative Appointment method produces the lowest average partisanship confidence score for state supreme court justices according to the Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship study.
Direct legislative appointment yields the lowest average partisan confidence score for state supreme court justices of any method, according to the Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship study. The Michigan-Ohio method produced the highest average partisan confidence score of 11 for all justices, while the direct legislative appointment method produced an average partisan confidence score of 5…
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Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for March 1
Suggested headline: Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for March 1 Type: Monthly update In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies to all United States Article III federal courts from February 1, 2021, to March 1, 2021. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each…
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SCOTUS vacates appellate court ruling, remands case to bankruptcy court in City of Chicago, Illinois v. Fulton
On January 14, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a unanimous ruling in the case City of Chicago, Illinois v. Fulton. The case originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and concerned retained property under the federal Bankruptcy Code. The case was argued during the court’s October term…
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State supreme court vacancies in 2021
So far in 2021, there have been two new state supreme court vacancies in two of the 29 states where replacement justices are appointed instead of elected. The vacancies have both been caused by retirements. In Colorado, Chief Justice Nathan Coats retired on January 1, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 72. Colorado…
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Differing deference views in FDA abortion pill case
On January 12, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily restored restrictions implemented by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) governing the dispensation of an abortion-inducing pill. A district court had ordered the FDA to loosen restrictions on the drug because, in its view, the COVID-19 pandemic made it more difficult for women to access the…
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Gov. Sununu (R) to nominate Attorney General Gordon MacDonald to New Hampshire Supreme Court
On January 6, 2021, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) announced that he will renominate Attorney General Gordan MacDonald (R) to the New Hampshire State Supreme Court. In New Hampshire, the governor makes nominations to the state supreme court and those nominees are then subject to the approval of the Executive Council. In order for the nominee…
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Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court rules that 2019 Marsy’s Law ballot measure violated state constitution
On January 7, 2021, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that a ballot measure for Marsy’s Law, a type of crime victims’ rights amendment, violated the Pennsylvania Constitution. Pennsylvanians voted 74% to 26% in favor of Marsy’s Law at the election on November 5, 2019. Results were never certified, however, according to a court order. The…
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Texas Gov. Abbott appoints Rebeca Huddle to replace Justice Paul Green on state supreme court
On October 15, 2020, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appointed Rebeca Huddle to replace Justice Paul Green on the Texas Supreme Court. Justice Green announced his retirement from the Texas Supreme Court in August 2020. Huddle is a Republican who served as a justice on Texas’ First District Court of Appeals. She graduated from Stanford University…