Texas Expands Discipline Options for its Commission on Judicial Performance

Yesterday was an off-year election and few state and local ballot measures generated much national interest. However, there was an interesting judicial ballot initiative: Proposition 9 in Texas to amended the state constitution to expand the actions available to the Texas State Commission on Judicia...
November 7, 2013

Court Battle Over Changes to Arizona’s Commission on Court Appointments

The Brennan Center and Justice at Stake have filed an amicus brief in a challenge to an April 2013 law changing the process by which Arizona’s Commission on Appellate Court Appointments recommends candidates to fill judicial vacancies. The April legislation both requires the nominating commission to...
August 8, 2013

The Tennessee Model for Judicial Disqualification

A robust, transparent, and meaningful recusal process empowers judges and litigants. Clear standards in the code of judicial conduct (or “judicial canon”) keep judges informed of their responsibilities and the boundaries of their activities, while leaving them latitude to remain independent. Where t...
June 20, 2013

Policy Brief on Judicial Evaluations

Since 2010, the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice has managed a Pilot Project for judicial evaluation: the Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County. This demonstration project explores the feasibility of using the performance commission model to evaluate judicial retention candidates to posit...
May 28, 2013

CCL & Chicago Appleseed in the News on Judicial Elections

WGN, the Chicago Tribune and Medill Watchdog have begun a series of investigations into the judicial elections process. The integrity of the judicial elections process is an important research concern at Chicago Appleseed, as is the overall quality of our judiciary and the investigators spoke to our...
May 22, 2013