JP Election Brief: Looking at Arizona, North Dakota and Texas
June 28, 2012
by: the State Court Staff
Filing deadline
The next deadline for judicial elections is the filing deadline for Michigan Supreme Court candidates on July 5th. This year, the major parties selected their candidates early in an attempt to get a jump on the campaign. The Republican nominees for the court are Stephen Markman, Colleen O'Brien and Jane Markey. They will compete against Democratic nominees Shelia Johnson, Connie Marie Kelley and Bridget McCormack. The six candidates are competing for three seats, only one of which is currently held by an incumbent (that of Justice Markman).
Highlight a Race
Justice of the Peace Cathleen Nichols and Division 5 Judge Joseph Lodge were set to compete for Division 5 of the Coconino County Superior Court, but now Judge Lodge may not be on the ballot.[1]
Yavapai County Judge Michael Bluff made a decision declaring the 1,110 petition signatures nominating Judge Lodge invalid because he failed to indicate which division he was running for.[1] Judge Bluff said:
| “ | Electors signing Mr. Lodge's petitions would not know by reading the petition what office within the Superior Court he was a candidate for. And even if they somehow knew he was seeking the office of Superior Court Judge, they would still not know which division he was a candidate for. [2] | ” |
Due to this ruling Lodge's name may not appear on the August 28th primary ballot. Judge Lodge is appealing the decision, but the ruling on the appeal would need to be soon, before the ballots head to the printer on the week of July 4, 2012.[1]
In the News
Endorsements roll in for Texas Supreme Court race
The primary election is over, and now the candidates left standing are eyeing their potential seats. For some races, the candidates who will appear on the November ballot have not been decided upon. The race for Texas Supreme Court, Place 4, is one such race. On July 31 incumbent David Medina and challenger John Devine will face one another in a primary runoff. Their campaigns are in full swing, and two opposing endorsements have recently appeared in Texas news sources.
On June 22 a letter was published in the Amarillo Globe-News endorsing Texas Supreme Court candidate John Devine.[3] The letter is simply a constituent's endorsement of Devine, but an endorsement in a respected news outlet nonetheless.
Four days after this endorsement, an article appeared on Texas GOP Vote with the title Why We Should Re-Elect Supreme Court Justice David Medina.[4] The article starts off very similarly to the piece endorsing Devine, but arrives at the opposing option. Though this article may not be in direct answer to the Amarillo endorsement of Devine, the two are very similar, and obviously hope to win over voters in time for the July 31 primary runoff vote.
Judicial performance commission evaluates judges
Last week, Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review held a public meeting in the Arizona State Courts Building to vote on whether the justices and judges on this year's general election ballot meet the state's judicial performance standards.[5]
The Commission, made up of 30 members, was established by a voter-approved constitutional amendment in 1992. To evaluate judges, the commission sets judicial performance standards, decides whether judges meet those standards, and publishes its findings for voter consideration. It collects information about judicial performance by surveying those with knowledge of particular judges, including self-represented parties, witnesses, jurors, staff, and attorneys. Over 13,000 surveys were collected about the 77 justices and judges scheduled to be on this year's general election ballot.[5]
Based on the results of those surveys and comments from the public,[5] the commission members will cast a vote indicating whether a judge "meets" or "does not meet" Arizona's judicial performance standards.[6] Results of this meeting's vote will be made available to the public in the Secretary of State's voter pamphlet and on the Commission's website. Voters will have the opportunity to vote for or against the retention of these judges in the general election on November 6, 2012.[5]
North Dakota municipal judges elected
In addition to its District Court races, this month voters in North Dakota also elected Municipal Court judges. Five judge were re-elected without opposition, while one candidate defeated an incumbent.
Reelected unopposed were:
- Jeffrey J. Hruby, of the Wilton Municipal Court,
- Rick Hummel, of the Bottineau Municipal Court,
- William Severin, of the Bismarck Municipal Court,
- Thomas Goven, of the Valley City Municipal Court, and
- Charles Isakson, of the Lincoln Municipal Court.
All of these judge were re-elected to four-year terms.
Meanwhile, Alvin O. Boucher defeated incumbent Judge John Widdel for a seat on the Grand Forks Municipal Court. Widdel was appointed to the court in October 2011.[7]
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Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Daily Sun, "County judge off ballot?" June 27, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Amarillo Globe-News, "Letter: Devine stands for change," June 22, 2012
- ↑ Texas GOP Vote, "Why We Should Re-Elect Supreme Court Justice David Medina," June 26, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review, "News Release: Commission to vote on performance of justices and judges on 2012 general election ballot," June 18, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review, Meeting Agenda, June 27, 2012
- ↑ GrandForksHerald.com, "Boucher wins Grand Forks municipal judge race," June 12, 2012 (dead link)
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