Tag: State courts
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Two Nebraska Supreme Court justices face retention elections in November
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…
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Supreme Court of Georgia holds oral argument via video conferencing
On April 20, 2020, The Supreme Court of Georgia held oral arguments via video conferencing. It is the first time in the court’s 175 year history that arguments were held virtually. Ballotpedia is tracking how state courts are responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Other recent updates include: Colorado - The Colorado Supreme Court extended its suspension…
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Judge Segal appointed chief judge of Minnesota Court of Appeals
Gov. Tim Walz (D) appointed judge Susan Segal as chief judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals on April 13. Segal will serve the remainder of Edward J. Cleary’s term as chief of the court, which ends on October 31, 2022. Cleary announced his retirement effective April 30 in the fall of 2019. Segal becomes…
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Illinois Supreme Court rules fantasy sports a game of skill, not chance
In April 2016, Illinois residents Colin Dew-Becker and Andrew Wu competed in a fantasy sports contest hosted by the website FanDuel. They each paid a total of $109: a $100 wager and a $9 fee to the company. Wu defeated Dew-Becker, and three days later Dew-Becker invoked an 1819 law called The Loss Recovery Act…
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Chief justice of Maine Supreme Court resigns
Chief justice Leigh Ingalls Saufley of the Maine State Supreme Court resigned April 14. She stepped down to take a new position as the dean of the University of Maine School of Law, her alma mater. Saufley first joined the court in 1997, following her appointment by independent then-governor Angus King. In 2001, Saufley became…
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Iowa Governor appoints fourth supreme court justice
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) appointed attorney Matthew McDermott to the Iowa Supreme Court on April 3, 2020. McDermott succeeded Acting Chief Justice David Wiggins, who retired on March 13, 2020. McDermott was the governor's fourth nominee to the seven-member supreme court. At the time of his appointment to the state supreme court, McDermott practiced…
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Washington Gov. Inslee selects third appointment to state supreme court
Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D) appointed Judge G. Helen Whitener to the Washington Supreme Court on April 13, 2020. Whitener succeeded Justice Charles Wiggins, who retired in March. Whitener is Gov. Inslee's third nominee to the nine-member supreme court. Whitener has been a judge on the Pierce County Superior Court in Washington since 2015. From…
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Five Oklahoma justices serving on courts of last resort face retention elections
Oklahoma is one of two states with two courts of last resort. The Oklahoma Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the state for civil matters while the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for criminal matters. The Oklahoma Supreme Court is composed of nine justices serving six-year…
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Jill Karofsky defeats incumbent Daniel Kelly in Wisconsin State Supreme Court election
Jill Karofsky defeated Daniel Kelly in the general election for a ten-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. As of 7:35 p.m. on April 13, Karofsky had received 53.2% of the vote to Kelly's 46.8% with 73% of precincts reporting. Although the race was officially nonpartisan, Kelly is a member of the court's conservative majority,…
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Delaware extends state court closure through May 14
On April 13, 2020, Delaware Chief Judge Collins Seitz Jr. extended court closures in the state through May 14, except for Delaware’s three Justice of the Peace courts. The three 24-hour courts will remain open to accept bail payments for all courts and Justice of the Peace Court emergency criminal and civil filings. Ballotpedia is…