2014 Judicial Primary Evaluations Now Available!

The Chicago Council of Lawyers presents its evaluations and Chicago Appleseed presents VoteForJudges.org, the nonpartisan judicial evaluation and judicial information website. In Illinois, judges are elected. People will be voting for judicial candidates on March 18, 2014. Each of these candidates...
March 12, 2014

Elections and Judicial Integrity

Last week, the Sun-Times ran a piece about the new pension-reform law, examining the overlap judicial election campaign contributors and pension-stakeholders, in the context of a potential lawsuit challenging the pension-reform law. The piece raises some important questions of how judicial campaign...
January 7, 2014

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