JP Election Brief: Changing the rules in Florida and Nevada (and more!)

April 19, 2012

by: the State Court Staff

Every Thursday, Judgepedia's State Court Staff examines events in the world of judicial elections across the nation. Make sure to use Judgepedia's Election Central the rest of the week as a hub for all your judicial election needs.

Important dates

Runoff election

• April 21: Runoff election in Louisiana

Filing deadline

• April 20: Filing deadline in Florida

Want to know more about Judgepedia's 2012 election coverage?
Check out Judgepedia's Election Central for details!

Georgia Coweta Judicial Circuit race

The race between Kevin McMurry and Emory Palmer for a seat on the Coweta Judicial Circuit is heating up. Both men are respected area trial lawyers, and both have now lined up endorsements from prominent Carroll County attorneys. Carrolton criminal defense attorney Jason Swindle and District Attorney Pete Skandalakis have endorsed McMurry. Carrollton attorney Tommy Greer is backing Palmer.

The men are vying to replace longtime judge Allen B. Keeble, who is retiring in December 2012 at the end of his current term. The race for this seat is a special, nonpartisan race, which will be present on both the Democratic and Republican tickets in the July 31, 2012 primary election.

In the News

Members of Nominating Commission prohibited from participating in judicial campaigning

On April 16, the Florida Supreme Court decided that the members of the Judicial Nominating Commission, who are responsible for nominating judges to the high court, will not be allowed to participate in any judicial races in the state. The new policies angered some of the commissioners, who felt stripped of their rights. Those in favor are hoping the rules will prevent politics from tainting the judicial selection process.

The JNC passed the following policies with a 5-4 vote:

• No Commissioner, during his or her term of service on the Commission, shall contribute to or participate actively in any campaign efforts to retain or defeat currently sitting Supreme Court Justices and Appellate Judges. No Commissioner, during his or her term of service on the Commission, shall contribute to or participate actively in any campaign efforts to elect or defeat and candidate for County or Circuit Judge.

• No Commissioner shall seek to publish or permit anyone else to publish his/her status as a Commissioner with any effort to retain or defeat any sitting Supreme Court Justice or Appellate Judge. No Commissioner shall seek to publish or permit anyone else to publish his/her status as a Commissioner with any effort to elect or defeat any County or Circuit Judge.

Tallahassee lawyer Jason Unger is opposed to the rules. He explained, "I don’t like the idea of prohibiting people on the commission from free speech...Frankly, it’s better to have it out in the public. If one of us widely supported someone it’s better to have that in public record."

Rutledge Liles, a Jacksonville lawyer, supported the limitations, stating, "I personally am not going to involve myself in any campaign for the sake of the appearance of impropriety."

Campaign donations an issue in Oregon district court race

JACKSON COUNTY, Oregon: Incumbent judge Benjamin Bloom will be challenged by David Orr in the upcoming election for Position 7 on the 1st Judicial District. Orr has criticized Bloom of accepting campaign donations, saying that it would create bias and influence in the courtroom. Orr himself will not be accepting any campaign donations.

"I will accept no campaign funding from any lawyer, law-firm, corporation or from any other source whatsoever. I believe that it is impossible to be completely fair and unbiased when serving as a judge after having received monetary endorsements during the campaign process." - David Orr

Bloom responded by stating that he did not know where the money came from, therefore eliminating the possibility of bias.

"I don't ask anyone for money, and I don't know who's giving me money. As a sitting judge, I simply do not want to know." - Judge Benjamin Bloom

Benjamin Bloom currently serves as judge for Position 7 of the Oregon 1st Judicial District. He was appointed to the position by Governor Ted Kulongoski and sworn in on January 7, 2011. From 2005 to 2010, he served as a judge pro tem, in addition to being a partner at a Medford law firm. Bloom received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College and his J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School.

David Orr currently serves as the Deputy District Attorney for Jackson County. He began his legal career as a deputy public defender in Kansas and later worked as an associate for a civil litigation firm. From 2000 to 2002, Orr served as Linn County deputy district attorney, and in 2003, became a deputy district attorney in Jackson County. Orr earned his bachelor of arts from the University of Kansas and his J.D. from the Law School at Washburn University.

State executives create emergency procedure to get candidates on ballot

Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller has issued an emergency regulation, signed into effect by Governor Brian Sandoval, to provide a process for nominating candidates to fill a vacancy in Department 4 of the Nevada 8th District Court in Clark County. This vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Kathy Hardcastle on April 13, 2012.

In general, candidates for any vacant seat on a Nevada court must file their candidacy in January in order to appear on the primary ballot in June. However, the vacancy at issue here arose after the filing deadline for the primary ballot had already passed. Nevada law requires that vacant seats arising "after the second Tuesday in April" and "before the fourth Friday in June," as in this case, must appear on the next general election ballot. Unfortunately, the law does not provide a mechanism for potential candidates to get their names on the November general election ballot. The Secretary of State's emergency regulations are intended to provide such a mechanism, because "[a]bsent these regulations, there exists no legal direction to Clark County or potential candidates as to how they become nominated for the ballot."

The emergency regulation provides that those interested in appearing on the November ballot must complete a candidate nominating petition and collect the signatures of 761 registered voters. The petition and signatures must be filed with the Clark County Registrar of Voters by 5:00p.m. on May 21, 2012. This emergency regulation does not govern any judicial vacancy other than that in Department 4 during the 2012 election year.

Runoff election in Louisiana on Saturday

Only one race from the March 24 Louisiana judicial elections was forced to a runoff: that of the Terrebonne Parish Justice Court. Candidates George C. Doescher and Cathy LeBoeuf will compete this Saturday to succeed former Justice of the Peace Louis Riche, who passed away in August.

Doescher won the primary election in March, receiving 43.5% of the vote. LeBoeuf collected 32.8%, while a third candidate, Bill Underwood, received 23.6%. In Louisiana, a candidate must receive at least 50% of the vote plus one to win election.

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