Brennan Center for Justice

1.            An article in Stateline about Florida Supreme Court Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince—who are facing retention elections this fall—notes that, “[i]n many states, the difference between the two [judges and politicians] is increasingly blurry.” According to the article, while the three Justices don’t have opponents, they have hired campaign manager Robin Rorapaugh to respond to criticism from the conservative group "Restore Justice.”  Retention elections have typically been resistant to special-interest encroachment, but in 2010 spending on retention elections skyrocketed.  In Iowa, voters ousted three Supreme Court Justices out of office after a nationally-funded special-interest campaign focused the election on a controversial, unanimous court ruling that permitted same-sex marriage.  According to Stateline, “Florida could be the next Iowa.”

Josh Goodman, Conservative Activists Take aim at Florida Justices, Stateline.org, June 25, 2012; Randy Schultz, Editorial: Political Witch Hunt Threatens Florida Supreme Court, Palm Beach Post, June 16, 2012.

The Supreme Court

2.            As the United States Supreme Court reaches the end of its term, numerous national media outlets examine how an increasingly partisan electorate is responding to the high court’s decisions on controversial cases. Writing in The Nation, Barry Friedman predicts that “[t]he more justices are seen as making decisions on partisan issues and the more cases are decided along the current 5-4 Republican-Democrat divide, the more the public will disapprove. Until recently, the justices had fared well even among people who disagreed with this or that decision. Controversial decisions are, after all, part of what people admire about an independent court. But that respect will ebb if people see division on the Court as nothing other than business as usual in Washington.”  Meanwhile, speaking at the American Constitution Society conference last weekend, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg suggested that because “many of the most controversial cases remain pending…the sharp disagreement rate will go up next week and the week after.”

Barry Friedman, Why Are Americans Losing Trust in the Supreme Court?, The Nation, June 18, 2012; Bill Mears, Justice Ginsburg Suggests 'Sharp Disagreement' Over Hot-Button Cases, CNN, June 15, 2012; Judge H. Lee Sarokin, The Supreme Court is Not American Idol, Huffington Post, June 18, 2012;

Judicial Misconduct

3.            According to the Associated Press, last week a federal jury convicted Texas attorney Ray Marchan of paying kickbacks to former state District Judge Abel Limas. The article states that Marchan “was just one of many people who helped Limas enrich himself to the tune of more than $250,000 during his time on the bench.” Judge Limas plead guilty to racketeering last year and is awaiting sentencing. Meanwhile, another Texas judicial corruption case began trial last week. The Dallas Morning News reports that Stacy Stine Cary, “[a] University Park woman accused of giving money to fund a 2008 judicial campaign in exchange for favorable rulings in a contentious child custody case,” was “part of a complex scheme that helped Suzanne Wooten get elected to the 380^th Judicial District bench in 2008.” Judge Wooten was convicted last November, but according to another Morning News article, she “maintains her innocence.”

Valerie Wigglesworth,Former Judge Suzanne Wooten Maintains Innocence Despite Bribery Conviction in Challenge to Subpoena, Dallas Morning News, June 21, 2012; CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, Texas Lawyer Convicted in Judicial Kickbacks Probe,Associated Press, June 19, 2012; Valerie Wigglesworth, Trial Starting in Collin County for Woman Accused of Funding 2008 Judicial Campaign in Return for Favorable Rulings in Court, Dallas Morning News, June 19, 2012.

Diversity on the Bench

4.            According to a SoMdNews.com article, the Charles County, Maryland, judicial nominating commission has sent the names of four candidates for an opening on the Circuit Court bench to Governor Martin O’Malley.  Of the four, Deputy County Attorney Elizabeth D. Theobalds is the only African-American and only woman.  The article notes that Charles County is 51.6 percent minority and 41 percent black, and currently only has one black judge.  Janice Wilson, president of the Charles County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, underscored the importance of diversity on the bench, stating that “It just makes sense that we would have more African-American presence in these positions, certainly in the circuit court. I think that’s very important to have that representation.”

Jeff Newman, Four Nominated for Circuit Court Bench, SoMdNews.com, June 20, 2012.

Federal Judicial Selection

5.            In a letter to Senate leadership last Wednesday, American Bar Association President William Robinson III expressed “grave concern for the longstanding number of judicial vacancies on Article III courts.” The letter underscored the continued vacancy crisis on the federal bench, and urged the Senators to “to continue to work together to move consensus district court nominees to the floor for a vote throughout the rest of the session, lest the vacancy crisis worsens in the waning months of the 112th Congress. With five new vacancies arising this month and an additional five announced for next month, this is not just a possibility; it is a certainty, absent your continued commitment to the federal judiciary and steady action on nominees.”

Todd Ruger, ABA Urges Senate to Vote on Appellate Judicial Nominees, Blog of Legal Times, June 21, 2012.