Tag: state supreme court
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Wendlandt sworn in as Massachusetts supreme court justice
On December 4, 2020, Dalila Wendlandt was sworn in as a new justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s court of last resort. Wendlandt was nominated by Governor Charlie Baker (R) on November 3, 2020, and was the governor’s sixth nominee to the seven-member court. Wendlandt succeeded Barbara Lenk, who retired on December…
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2020’s state supreme court elections resulted in changes on two of country’s least homogenous courts
The partisan makeup of two of the country’s most politically divided state supreme courts changed as a result of the 2020 elections, according to a Ballotpedia ranking of states by supreme court partisanship. As part of the Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship study, Ballotpedia assigned each state supreme court justice a partisan confidence score based on…
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Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Lenk retires
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Barbara Lenk retired on Dec. 1, one day before she reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. Governor Deval Patrick (D) appointed Lenk in April 2011, and she was the first openly gay justice on the court. Before her appointment, Lenk was a judge on the Massachusetts Appeals Court and…
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New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Nakamura retires
New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura retired on Dec. 1, 2020. She originally planned to retire on Aug. 1 but postponed her retirement date in June. Governor Susana Martinez (R) appointed Nakamura to the court in November 2015. Prior to her appointment, Nakamura was a judge on the New Mexico Second Judicial District Court…
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Ballotpedia publishes special study on state supreme court partisanship
Ballotpedia recently published a study on state supreme courts entitled “Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship”. Among the findings, the study showed that there has been an increase in partisanship on the state courts over the past ten years and that there is a correlation between the partisanship of justices selected for state supreme courts and the…
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Chief justice confirmed to Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
On November 18, 2020, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Kimberly Budd was confirmed as the chief justice of the court. Budd was nominated to the position by Gov. Charlie Baker (R) on October 28, 2020. She succeeded former Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, who passed away on September 14, 2020. Budd may serve as the…
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Hawaii senate confirms Eddins to state supreme court
On November 19, 2020, the Hawaii State Senate confirmed Todd Eddins to succeed Justice Richard W. Pollack on the Hawaii Supreme Court. Gov. David Ige (D) appointed Eddins to the court on October 23, 2020. Eddins is Ige’s first nominee to the five-member supreme court. The seat became vacant when Pollack retired on June 30,…
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Colorado governor appoints Maria Berkenkotter to state supreme court
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) appointed Maria Berkenkotter to the Colorado Supreme Court on November 20, 2020. Berkenkotter will succeed Chief Justice Nathan Coats, who is retiring in January 2021 when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 72. Berkenkotter is Polis’s first nominee to the seven-member supreme court. Under Colorado law, state supreme court…
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Ballotpedia study: population distribution mirrors state supreme court partisanship
Ballotpedia recently published a new study on state supreme courts entitled “Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship”. Among the findings, the study revealed trends in the distribution of the population across the country that closely tracked with the breakdown of partisan control over state supreme courts. The correlation between population distribution and court partisanship was closest among…
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Georgia Supreme Court Justice Keith Blackwell retires
On Nov. 18, Georgia Supreme Court Justice Keith Blackwell retired, citing family obligations and a desire to return to private practice. Gov. Nathan Deal (R) appointed Blackwell to the court in June 2012 to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of George H. Carley. Before serving on the supreme court, Blackwell served on the…