Miscellaneous

The State of State Courts

By Anne Skove, Esq.

Sure everyone watched the election returns. But did any makers of those red + blue maps show the post-election makeup of state supreme courts? From that big skating rink in NYC to CNN to your local news, we bet not.

Never fear! While court-o-rama is not so good at creating maplike graphics, we are here to report about state supreme court races from around the country:

• Alabama: A close race almost prompted a recount, but as of this writing it looked as though Republican Greg Shaw had been declared the winner. See Recounts Appear Unlikely in Alabama Supreme Court, PSC Races, Eric Velasco, Birmingham News (November 6, 2008), and Paseur's Bid for Supreme Court Falls Just Short, Times Daily (November 5, 2008).


• Michigan: Wayne County Circuit Judge Diane Hathaway (D) defeated incumbent Chief Justice Cliff Taylor, 49% to 39% (11% went to Robert Roddis). The campaign effectively painted CJ Taylor as "the sleeping justice." Justice Hathaway will be the Michigan Supreme Court's first new member since 2000. With Hathaway's win, the state supreme court will be composed of 3 Democrats and four Republicans. See Balance Tilts on State Supreme Court, Dawson Bell, Free Press (November 6, 2008).


• Minnesota: Incumbents won the day in the Land of 10,000 (but who's counting?) Lakes. See State Supreme Court Justices Defeat Challengers, Steve Karnowski, AP/Star Tribune (November 5, 2008).


• Mississippi: Voters replaced 1/3 of the court. The sea change is attributed to an attempted bribery scandal (still under investigation by the FBI), and (perhaps) due in part to the court's overwhelming reversal of jury verdicts (88%). See Mississippi High Court Welcomes 3 New Members, Jerry Mitchell, Clarion Ledger (November 6, 2008).


• Nevada: Voters gambled on Kris Pickering to fill a vacancy on the high court, and knew when to hold 'em when retaining CJ Mark Gibbons. See Gibbons, Pickering Win NV Supreme Court Seats, Sandra Chereb, AP/SF Gate (November 5, 2008).


• North Carolina: Senator Dole is gone, but the North Carolina Supreme Court is still Republican by a slim margin. Party affiliations do not appear on the ballot. If they had, we wonder whether the Obama effect would have changed the outcome. See GOP Maintains Edge on Supreme Court, AP (November 5, 2008).


• Ohio: Congress and the Executive Branch may have experienced a blue upset, but Ohio's high court remains 100% Republican. Justices Stratton and O'Connor defeated Democratic challengers Sikora and Russo. Voters had to do their homework to determine party lines; the information is not printed on the ballot. See Ohio Justices Elected to Another Term. Scott Sabatini, Legal Newsline (November 4, 2008). Kudos to the sitting state supreme court (also all-Republican) for not allowing partisan politics to muddle their decision supporting the Democratic secretary of state.


• Locally in Hamilton County ("swing county in a swing state"), Republican Judge Fred Nelson (R) was defeated by Jerry Metz (D). Judge Nelson had served for six years. He seems to be taking the loss in stride, saying "The voters made their choice. It's a choice I respect. Any time you get involved in election campaigns, you have to be prepared to lose." See Judge Swept Away in Blue Tidal Wave, Kimball Perry, Cincinnati Enquirer (November 6, 2008).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on November 06, 2008 (boomark / email).