Saturday, October 31, 2026

November 2026 Judiciary News

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Red states:  Following a spate of recent nominations, there are still 4 vacant district court seats without nominees in red states (two R senators), including two in Texas, and one each in AR, NC.

Hearings:  Democrats are complaining about Senator Chuck Grassley planning to hold two nomination hearings in consecutive weeks.  Mike Fragoso explains that there is nothing unusual about this.

Nominations:  Mike Fragoso explains the state of judicial nominations in the final months of 2026.  He highlights several nominees, including Lee Rudofsky (Eighth Circuit), Zach West (ND-OK), Sam Adkisson (ED-TN), Phil Axt (D-ND), Jesus Osete (WD-MO), and Bradford Kelley (ED-LA).

Demographics:  Bloomberg shows that Trump has appointed roughly the same proportions of female, black, and Hispanic judges versus his first term.  Naturally, the article is framed as Trump appointing fewer Asian judges.

5th Circuit:  Judge Leslie Southwick timed his retirement to increase the likelihood that his clerk, Todd Butler, would be confirmed to succeed him.  Josh Blackmann has strongly criticized the nomination, discussing judges choosing their own successors, publications criticizing Justice Scalia, religious freedom, effects on the 5th Circuit, and credentials.  Mike Fragoso offers a qualified defense of Butler, including his qualifications.

ED-TN:  Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) returned a blue slip for associate White House counsel Samuel Adkisson after initially refusing to do so.  She did not give an explanation for either decision.

Nominations:
TBD

The Federal Judiciary:

SD-MS:  Last year, Judge Henry Wingate issued a decision written by AI, and later "corrected" the opinion while still citing nonexistent precedent.  Judge Jerry Smith (5th Circuit) issued a "benchslap", harsely criticizing Wingate and stripping him of jurisdiction over the case.

ND-TX:  A judicial investigation committee recommended that Judge Ada Brown be temporarily stripped of her docket, saying that she “abandoned her post as a federal judge”.  Brown directed race-based oprobrium at a Hispanic lawyer who she classified as white.  She also recused from numerous cases for no reason.  The committee suggested that she has a mental disorder.  She is refusing to participate in the proceedings against her.

ED-MI:  Judge Thomas Ludington will be on leave until Sept. 1, 2027, and will take senior status if he returns to the bench.  He crashed his car due to being 'super drunk' last fall and was sentenced to 6 months probation.

Vacancy Declarations:  There are now 43 current and future judicial vacancies.  New vacancies over the past two months are listed below.

ED-AR: Lee Rudofsky (Trump) TBD (elevated)
D-SC: Timothy Cain (Obama) 10/1/26 (senior)
D-NE: Robert Rossiter (Obama) TBD (senior)
5th Circuit: Leslie Southwick (W) TBD (senior)
ND-IN: Philip Peter Simon (W) 7/8/27 (retired)

State Supreme Courts:

Elections:  Many states have elections for state Supreme Court in November.  This article is a guide to those elections.

California:  It has now been one year since Martin Jenkins retired from the California Supreme Court on October 31, 2025.  Governor Gavin Newsom has yet to appoint a replacement.

New Hampshire:  Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald resigned on September 15.  The Judicial Conduct Committee found that he had shown favoratism to an employee who was laid off by immediately rehiring her for a different position.  He was previously on "medical leave".  Governor Kelly Ayotte will appoint a replacement.

Utah:  Governor Spencer Cox appointed Matthew Bell and Michael Menssen to the Utah Supreme Court.  Bell was an AUSA and served as a judge on the Fifth District Court since 2017.  Menssen is in private practice.  They were among the 12 candidates for the position.  They will replace justices Matthew Durrant and Diana Hagen who resigned from the court.

History:

On Ed Whelan's Substack, "Confirmation Tales", recent posts deal with John Marshall, Antonin Scalia, and Sandra Day O'Connor.
Antonin Scalia Prepares for His Confirmation Hearing
How Betty Fletcher Won by a Day and Lost for Nineteen Years
Jon Kyl’s Impact on Judicial Confirmations
‘Time for a Woman’
A Houseboat Vacation and a Failed Courtship
The Attorney General Who Said Nothing
Midterm Elections and Judicial Confirmations

Nominations:  Mike Fragoso writes about the failure to replace Joel Flaum (7th Circuit) during Trump's first term, and the successful effort to block the nomination of Halil Suleyman to the 5th Circuit in favor of a more conservative candidate.

Resources:
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Wednesday, October 14, 2026

2026 State Supreme Court Election Preview

Many states have elections for state Supreme Court in November.  Here is a guide to the contested elections.  The elections in Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Washington seem to be the most competitive.

Ballotpedia:  2026 State Supreme Court Elections

Alabama: 
Seat 7:  Greg Shaw (R) faces AshLeigh Meyer Dunham (D)
Seat 8:  Brad Mendheim (R) is unopposed.

Alaska:  Justice Jude Pate faces a retention election.

Arizona:  Justice John Lopez IV (R-appointed) faces a retention election.

California:  Justices Kelli Evans and Joshua Groban face retention elections.

Colorado:  Justice William Hood faces a retention election.

Florida:  Justice Carlos Muñiz faces a retention election.  He is a conservative appointed by Ron DeSantis (R).  Some newspapers are recommending a no vote on him.

Kansas:  Justices Eric Rosen and Larkin Walsh (both D-appointed) face retention elections.

Louisiana:
District 1: William H. Burris won the R primary and will assume office without election due to being unopposed.
District 3: Cade Cole (R) won without election due to being unopposed.
District 4:  Jay McCallum (R) won without election due to being unopposed.

Maryland:  Justice Peter Killough faces a retention election.

Michigan:  Incumbent justices Megan Cavanagh and Noah Hood (both D nominated) face circuit court judges Casandra Morse-Bills and Michael Warren Jr. (both R nominated).

Missouri:  Justice Paul C. Wilson (D-appointed) faces a retention election.

Montana:  Flathead County District Court judges Amy Eddy (D supported) and Dan Wilson (R supported) face off in a nonpartisan race for the seat of retiring justice Beth Baker.  Wilson narrowly lost a race for another seat in 2024.  Montana has seen major conflict between the courts and the legislature.

Nevada:  Justices Kris Pickering and Douglas Herndon are unopposed for nonpartisan reelection.

New Mexico:  Justices Shannon Bacon and David Thomson face a retention election.

North Carolina:  One seat is up for partisan election.
Seat 1: Justice Anita Earls (D) was first elected in 2018.  Former state rep (08-26) Sarah Stevens (R) is seeking the seat.

North Dakota:  Two seats are up for nonpartisan election.
Douglas Bahr is unopposed for one seat.
Incumbent Jerod Tufte faces Ariston Johnson for the other seat.  Tufte has the support of most prominent Republicans.

Ohio:  Two seats are up for partisan election.
Incumbent (20-P) Jennifer Brunner (D) faces former Franklin County judge Colleen O'Donnell (R).
Incumbent (24-P) Dan Hawkins (R) faces First District Court of Appeals judge Marilyn Zayas (D).  

Oklahoma:  Justices John Kane IV, Dana Kuehn, Travis Jett, and Richard Darby face a retention election.

Texas Supreme Court:  There are three R incumbents up for election.  Leftists are campaigning against them due to a decision on abortion.
Place 1: Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock (R) faces Maggie Ellis (D).
Place 2: James Sullivan (R) faces Chari Kelly (D).
Place 7: Kyle Hawkins (R) faces Kristen Hawkins (D).
Place 8: Brett Busby (R) faces Gisela Triana (D).

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals:  Two R incumbents are retiring, two years after three incumbents were ousted in the primary due to conflict with AG Ken Paxton.
Place 3: Assistant attorney general Thomas Smith (R) faces Okey Anyiam (D).  Bert Richardson is retiring.
Place 4: Incumbent Kevin Patrick Yeary (R) faces Audra Riley (D).
Place 9: Assistant state prosecuting attorney John Messinger (R) faces Holly Taylor (D).  David Newell is retiring.

Utah:  Justice Jill Pohlman faces a retention election.  The Utah GOP is urging a no vote.

Washington: Five seats are up for nonpartisan election.
Position 2: Incumbent Colleen Melody (D supported) faces tax attorney Scott Edwards (R supported).
Position 3: Local judges Jaime Hawk and David Stevens (R supported) are seeking this seat.
Position 4: Appeals court judge Ian Birk (D supported) faces local judge Sean O'Donnell.
Position 5: Incumbent Theo Angelis faces Dave Larson (R supported).
Position 7: Incumbent Debra Stephens faces attorney Todd Bloom (R supported).

Wyoming: Incumbents Robert Jarosh and Bridget Hill face retention elections.


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