JP Election Brief: May primaries and alleged campaign violations

April 12, 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

Filing deadlines

• April 13: Filing deadline in North Dakota
• April 13: Filing deadline in Oklahoma

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

In the News

Superior Court ranked favorably in North Carolina

Most citizens spend little time in courtrooms and lack the first-hand experience of interacting with judges. So, for many of us, it is interesting to hear what the attorneys, who appear before judges regularly, have to say about these elected officials. For that reason, the North Carolina Bar Association released results for an annual Judicial Performance Evaluation Survey, in which thousands of lawyers rate the performance of the state's Superior and District Court judges.

The judges are rated on a scale of 1 - 5 in six categories: Integrity & Impartiality, Legal Ability, Professionalism, Communication, Administrative Skills and Overall Performance. The "Overall Performance" ratings for the Superior Court judges running for re-election on Nov. 6, 2012 are listed below.

First Division: Alma L. Hinton: 4.32 Cy A. Grant: 4.41

Third Division: Orlando F. Hudson, Jr.: 4.03 Abraham P. Jones: 3.30 Michael R. Morgan: 4.27 Donald W. Stephens: 4.51

Fourth Division: James Gregory Bell: 3.93 Robert F. Floyd, Jr.: 4.31

Seventh Division: Yvonne M. Evans: 4.26 Linwood O. Foust: 2.92 Robert T. Sumner: 4.41

To view the rest of the survey results, including the ratings for the District Court judges, follow this link: Judicial Performance Evaluation Survey Results, January 2012

Court of Appeals candidates ready for the May primary

The filing period for the Oregon Judicial Elections has closed and the May 15th Primary draws near. There are seven candidates running for election to the Oregon Court of Appeals this year. Four of the candidates are incumbents running unopposed, but three of the seven will compete in the primary.

The incumbents

The following judges are running unopposed for re-election to the Court of Appeals:

• Rick Haselton: Unopposed for Position 5
• Lynn Nakamoto: Unopposed for Position 8
• Erika L. Hadlock: Unopposed for Position 9
• Rex Armstrong: Unopposed for Position 10

Position 6 candidates

The following candidates are competing for Position 6 on the Court of Appeals, currently held by David V. Brewer:

• Allan J. Arlow currently serves as an administrative law judge for the Public Utility Commission and Board of Maritime Pilots. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. Arlow has experience serving as the vice president for government affairs at Ameritech Corp. and chief executive of the nonprofit Computer & Communications Industry Association. He worked as a hearing officer with the Bonneville Power Administration and also in private practice in Maryland. In 2010, he ran unsuccessfully for Seat 5 on the Oregon Supreme Court, losing to Jack Landau.

• James C. Egan currently serves as a judge for the Linn County Circuit Court, Position 2. He holds a B.S. in political science/Economics from Willamette University and a J.D. from University of Oregon. In 1985, Egan began work as an attorney for Kryger, Alexander, Egan, Elmer & Carlson. In 2010, he was appointed to the circuit court by Governor Ted Kulongoski.

• Tim Volpert currently works with the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. He was worked with the firm for the past 27 years and has been a partner since 1989. He obtained a B.A. in political science from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana and a J.D. from Willamette University College of Law. After graduation from law school Volpert served as judicial clerk for Judge W. Michael Gillette. He later began practicing with the law firm of Cosgrave, Kester, where he worked until joining his current firm.

Montana judge pushes judicial conduct in fundraising

In Montana, Judge Nels Swandalis being criticized for soliciting donations for Judge Laurie McKinnon, who is running for the Montana Supreme Court this year. Judge Swandal has written and passed along a letter which endorses and asks the reader to donate funds to McKinnon's campaign. The full letter can be accessed at this link.

A reading of the Montana Court of Judicial Conduct shows that this action may violate the following rule:

...a judge...shall not...solicit fund for, pay as assessment to, or make a contribution to a political organization, or to or on behalf of any partisan or independent office-holder or candidate for public office

The Montana Judicial Standards Commission is responsible for investigating situations regarding judicial conduct. The commission does not make public whether a complaint has been filed against a judge, or whether an investigation is ongoing.

Though McKinnon acknowledged the letter, The Associated Press is reporting that she also believes that unnamed "special-interest" groups are "circulating the letter."

Candidate returned to ballot in Texas

Texas has finally moved past legal challenges to its primary election date and is now facing other challenges in the elections process. On March 28th, 2012 the Texas Supreme Court found that Rebecca Ramirez Palomo should be present on the ballot for district court judge in the 341st District. Objections to Palomo's name on the ballot were made in reference to a requirement that candidates for district judge “ha[ve] been a practicing lawyer or a Judge of a Court in this State, or both combined, for four (4) years next preceding his election.” (Tex. Const. art. V, §7). Challenges to Palomo's candidacy questioned whether or not she had been continuously practicing as an attorney or judge in the four consecutive years leading up to the 2012 election. A point of issue in this case was, "whether the local party official had authority to strike a name from the ballot without stronger evidence."

The basis of the court's ruling in Palomo's favor is not yet known, but will be explained when the court's full opinion is released. The complete opinion of the court will appear on the Supreme Court of Texas' Orders and Opinions page in the near future.

Arkansas judges free of 2010 election allegations

Complaints filed against two Arkansas judicial candidates alleged to have used improper partisan endorsements in the 2010 judicial election have been dismissed.

Under the Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct, judges run for office on a nonpartisan basis, in an effort to keep partisan politics out of the judicial elections process. Judges and judicial candidates are not permitted to "seek, accept, or use endorsements from a political organization" or to "publicly identify himself or herself as a candidate of a political organization."

Judge Rhonda Wood, currently the Division 5 circuit judge of the Twentieth Circuit of Arkansas, used robocalls by former governor Mike Huckabee in her unsuccessful 2010 campaign for a seat on the Arkansas Court of Appeals. Judge Timothy D. Fox, currently a judge for the Sixth Circuit of Arkansas, noted in his unsuccessful 2010 campaign for a seat on the Arkansas Supreme Court that he had been recommended by officials of the Republican Party.

Investigations by a panel of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission found no evidence of judicial misconduct or wrong-doing on the part of either candidate, noting that the law concerning some judicial campaign activities was in flux at the time of the 2010 election. However, both candidates were advised to review relevant case precedent to ensure that their future campaigns comply with current law.

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