Wednesday, June 01, 2022

June 2022 Judiciary News

Did anything happen this month?

Abortion:  

On May 2, Politico published a leak of a draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization written by Justice Alito that would overturn Roe v Wade.  Ed Whelan summarizes the excellent opinion.

The left has responded to the draft ruling by claiming that it will lead to ending interracial marriage, contraception, etc.  This despite the fact that it doesn't, amd there is no serious support for this.  See 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The left offered many absurd takes on the draft decision, accusing opponents of all manner of perfidy, including support for segregation, making women second class citizens, and ending democracy.  The worst takes from somewhat mainstream sources are here: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

The best conservative responses to the left's takes are here: 1 2 3 4 5

Roberts:  Legal commentators are concern-trolling Justice Roberts over his lack of 'control' of the court.  The implication seems to be that the chief justice should decide the outcomes of every case, even though his vote counts the same as those of all the other justices.  Examples include 1 2

Protests:  Leftists held protests outside the homes of several justices in an attempt to intimidate and harass them.  This is actually illegal, yet some leftists endorsed this: 1 2

Leak:  The court launched an investigation of the leak.  Speculation about the identity of the leaker has centered around liberal law clerks.  Curiously, none of the liberal justices have condemned the leak.

Decision:  Some commentators called for the decision to be released immediately after the leak, but the court has yet to do so.  Further leaks indicate that no justices have changed their minds.

States:  Some state supreme courts have declared abortion to be a right under their state constitutions.  If Roe is overturned, states including Alaska, Iowa, Florida, Kansas, and Montana may be forced to revisit the issue.  Abortion supporters in Michigan filed a suit to declare abortion a right, and a lower court judge who is a regular Planned Parenthood donor did so.

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Hispanics:  MALDEF attacked President Biden for "ongoing shabby treatment of the Latino community" for not nominating enough Hispanics to judgeships.  They also attacked the timing of recent nominations as insulting victims of a recent school shooting.

7th Circuit:  Judge John Lee (ND-IL) was grilled by R senators during his nomination hearing.  He had issued a ruling early in the pandemic that upheld an order by Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker that limited religious services.

ED-NY:  Biden nominee Natasha Merle claimed in 2017 that "it’s inconsistent to denounce White supremacy but not repudiate voter ID laws, to not repudiate the Muslim ban, to not repudiate ‘the wall,’ ... These are all things that support and are grounded in White supremacy."  She is the deputy director of litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

ED-NY:  R senators are asking for a new hearing on Nusrat Choudhury.  She appeared to confirm that she stated in 2015 that "the killing of unarmed black men by police happens every day in America".  However, she later wrote a letter to the committee denying she made the statement.

Nominations:
TBD

The Federal Judiciary:

Thomas:  Mark Paoletta writes about the racist attacks that Justice Thomas has been subjected to for over 30 years.  These include being called an Uncle Tom and being attacked for his interracial marriage.  Paoletta was criticized by Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in a recent congressional hearing for pointing this out.

Ethics:  Senior Judge Reggie Walton (D-DC) endorsed the creation of an ethics code for the Supreme Court.

Vacancy Declarations:  There are now 115 current and future judicial vacancies.  New vacancies over the past month are listed below.
ED-MO: Audrey Fleissig (Obama) 4/14/23 (elevated)
ED-MI: Gershwin Drain (Obama) 8/13 (senior)
WD-TN: John Fowlkes (Obama) 9/1 (senior)
MD-FL: Roy Dalton (Obama) 7/9 (senior)
SD-FL: Robert Scola (Obama) 10/31/23 (senior)

State Supreme Courts:

Florida:  There are 17 applicants for the opening on the Florida Supreme Court caused by the retirement of Justice Alan Lawson.  One of the applicants is Judge Renatha Francis, who Governor Ron DeSantis tried to appoint to an earlier vacancy, but was rejected due to insufficient experience.  Sources indicate that DeSantis is planning to appoint Francis this time.

Illinois:  Justice Rita Garman (R) will retire on July 7.  She is 78, and has been on the court since 2001.  She represents the 4th district, which includes Springfield, Bloomington, Urbana, and surrounding rural areas.  She would have faced a retention election in 2022, but due to her retirement, a replacement was appointed by the court who will hold office until 2024.  The new appointee is Fourth District Appellate Court Justice Lisa Holder White (R), who is black.

Illinois:  Garman seems to have timed her retirement to ensure that her chosen successor would replace her.  Illinois' system of allowing the court to (temporarily) pick its own members is unusual.

Oklahoma:  The Oklahoma senate passed a constitutional amendment to eliminate the state judicial nominating commission, replacing it with gubernatorial appointment and state senate confirmation.  However, the amendment did not pass the state house.  The Oklahoma Supreme Court is well to the left of the state, typically breaking down as 5 liberal, 4 conservative.

Utah:  The judicial nominating commission has nominated seven candidates to fill the upcoming vacancy on the Utah Supreme Court.  Justice Thomas Lee will retire on July 31.  Four of the seven candidates were nominated for an earlier vacancy this year.  Governor Spencer Cox will make his second appointment to the court.

Virginia:  The standoff continues over two vacancies on the Virginia Supreme Court due to the retirements of Justices Donald Lemons and William Mims.  The Virginia legislature is supposed to pick their replacements, but the R-controlled house and D-controlled senate are deadlocked.  The Ds are trying to get one of the two seats for themselves.  If they cannot agree, Governor Glenn Youngkin will appoint temporary replacements.

Wisconsin:  Justice Patience Roggensack (R) will not seek re-election in 2023, when she will be 83.  Leftist circuit judge Janet Protasiewicz will seek the seat.  Conservative former justice Dan Kelly, who lost election in 2020, is also considering running.

Elections:

Overview:  The AP has an overview of state supreme court races this year.  National committees of both parties are promising to get involved in races in key states like Michigan, North Carolina, Illinois and Ohio.

May election results in contested races:

Alabama:  On May 24, Alabama GOP counsel Greg Cook won the R nomination for place 5 with 55% over Anniston Circuit Judge Debra Jones. Judge Anita L. Kelly will be the D nominee.

Arkansas:  On May 24, there were two contested elections.
Position 2: Justice Robin Wynne got 49% to 30% for District Judge Chris Carnahan and 21% for attorney David Sterling.  Wynne will face Carnahan in a November runoff.  While officially nonpartisan, Wynne is considered a D and Carnahan an R.
Position 6: Justice Karen Baker won reelection with 64% against Judge Gunner DeLay.  While officially nonpartisan, Baker is considered a D and DeLay an R.

Georgia:  On May 24, Justice Verda Colvin (R-appointed) won a full term with 68% over Veronica Brinson.  Justices Shawn LaGrua and Carla McMillian were unopposed for reelection.

North Carolina: On May 17, Trey Allen, general counsel for the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Court, won the R nomination for Seat 5 with 55%.  Court of Appeals judge April C. Wood got 36%.  Allen will face Justice Sam Ervin IV (D) in the general election.  A new poll shows Allen leading 
Ervin 46-42, while Richard Dietz (R) leads Lucy Inman (D) 45-39 for the other seat up in 2022.

June primary elections:

Illinois:  On June 28, there are partisan primaries for two seats on the Illinois Supreme Court.  The elections will be held using the new district map passed by the legislature.
District 2 (Lake, McHenry, Kane, DeKalb, Kendall):  This district is open.  The D candidates are 16th Circuit Court judge René Cruz and 19th Circuit Court judge Elizabeth M. Rochford, and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering. The R candidates are former Lake County sheriff Mark Curran, 2nd Appellate District judge Susan Hutchinson, 16th Circuit Court judge John A. Noverini and 19th Circuit Court judge Daniel Shanes.
District 3 (DuPage, Will, etc.):  This district is being vacated by Justice Robert L. Carter (D), who was appointed as a placeholder after Thomas Kilbride (D) lost a retention election in 2020.  Justice Michael J. Burke (R), who was appointed to replace Robert Thomas in District 2, is running here after his home was moved to this district.  The D candidate is 3rd District Appellate Court Judge Mary O'Brien.

Montana:   On June 7, there are nonpartisan primaries for two seats on the Montana Supreme Court.  Montana has recently seen clashes between the left-leaning judiciary and R-controlled legislature.
Justice Ingrid Gustafson is being challenged by Judge Mike McMahon and former MT GOP counsel and PSC President James Brown.  Brown has been endorsed by the top Republicans in the state.  Justice James Rice is being challenged by Bill D'Alton, so both will continue on to the November election.

New Mexico:  On June 7, there are partisan primaries for two seats on the New Mexico Supreme Court.  Justices Julie Vargas and Briana Zamora, both D, who were appointed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, will seek election.  They are unopposed for election in the D primary.  The R candidates will be Thomas Montoya and Kerry Morris, respectively.

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