In judgeship fight, GOP convenes kangaroo court

Near the corner of a dingy, crowded committee room, House Deputy Majority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, was quietly chatting this past Wednesday with lobbyists for the National Rifle Association and another gun-rights group, the Virginia Citizens Defense League. They were working out details of an evolving, then-secret deal between Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the Republican leadership to fully restore concealed-handgun privileges for Virginians in return for ways to strip dangerous stalkers of their firearms and to take a baby step toward closing the gun-show loophole.

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Terms Limits Proposal in Oklahoma Would Affect High Court Judges

Proposals for term limits for state Supreme Court justices are among bills under consideration in Oklahoma that would affect the judiciary and judicial selection, Oklahoma Supreme Court Vice Chief Justice Douglas Combs told an American Board of Trial Advocates audience.

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Action Ahead to Revamp Judicial Selection in Kansas?

House Republican leaders in Kansas plan to gauge support this week for proposals that could give the governor more influence in selecting state Supreme Court justices, the Associated Press reported.

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In Race for Texas’ Top Criminal Court, Politics is Central

A race for a seat on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest court for criminal matters, is spilling over with so many personal and political attacks that it seems highly and transparently politicized, The Houston Chroniclereports. The article is headlined, “Candidates cite politics as key to criminal court race.”

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New Leader of Oklahoma lawyers group plans to focus on judiciary independence

Longtime Oklahoma City attorney Garvin A. Isaacs will be sworn in Friday as the new Oklahoma Bar Association Board of Governors president. 

 

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Anthony Ferate Op-Ed for Judicial Elections

By Anthony Ferate

The people of Oklahoma deserve the right, in light of the judicial activism running rampant in our system and endorsed by the Judicial Nominating Commission, to chart a path that allows them to select our judges and determine their merit for ourselves.

It is time to cast aside the cozy back-room system that gives lawyers more control than citizens. It’s time to move for direct elections on the ballot.

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Nevada Judicial Elections - "Most People Admit They Know 'Nada' About Judicial Elections"

Vincent Ginn was the last person to enter a Clark County judicial race Friday, and he attracted some attention because he had already done so. He switched races just before the 5 p.m. deadline to file for office.

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Arkansas Group Will Seek to Police False Judicial Election Ads

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Kansas High Court Voids Statute As Separation-of-Powers Breach

by  December 23rd, 2015 

In a nationally watched case, the Kansas Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down as a violation of separation-of-powers tenets a statute removing the court’s authority to appoint chief district judges.

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Spending in Pennsylvania Supreme Court Race Tops Out Over $16.5 Million

WASHINGTON, D.C. November 6 – A post-Election Day tally of documented spending in Pennsylvania’s 2015 Supreme Court race shows  total spending rose to  $16,536,492,  further surpassing the previous national record for a Supreme Court race,  according to an analysis of state disclosures and television advertising by the nonpartisan organizations Justice at Stake and the Brennan Center for Justice. 

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