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Supreme Weekly: This week's news from Virginia, Missouri and Hawaii
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February 10, 2011
by Katy Farrell
This week we're going to recap some of the events of the last week affecting the state Supreme Courts.
VIRGINIA
On February 9, Justice Leroy Hassell passed away after an illness. He had served on the court since 1989 and was its Chief Justice from 2003 to 2010. Since they are in session, the Virginia State Legislature will elect a successor.
Virginia is only one of two states that selects judge in this manner, the other being South Carolina. A joint judicial advisory committee will evaluate potential nominees and advise the legislature.[1]
This method of judicial selection creates a unique set of circumstances in the state. Many of the justices and judges have close ties to the legislature, or have even served in it prior to joining the court. In an article heralding Justice Hassell after his death, he was remembered "as much a politician as he was a jurist, building relationships with the legislators who controlled the judiciary's budget by regularly visiting them in their districts, often far from Richmond."[2]
MISSOURI
On February 9, 2011, Chief Justice William Ray Price became the nation's ninth to deliver a 2011 State of the Judiciary address. It began with the year's common theme, the size of the court's budget. Price brilliantly and simply summarized the situation in which most state judiciaries find themselves: "The Missouri court system, the third separate but equal constitutional branch of government, operates on less than 2 percent of the state budget."[3] From there he discussed reducing incarceration for non-violent offenders and maintaining impartiality on the courts.
HAWAII
Governor Neil Abercrombie again affirmed his decision to not release the names of judicial applicants for the state intermediate appellate courts. The Office of Information Practices still contends that under state law the governor must provide the names to the public. The governor's decision became an issue after appointing Sabrina S. McKenna to the Hawaii Supreme Court in January. Once he announced the appointment, Abercrombie made clear that he would not follow the examples of his two predecessors, Governor Lingle and Cayetano.[4]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Judicial Selection in the States: Virginia," archived January 11, 2014
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Virginia Supreme Court Justice Leroy R. Hassell Sr. dies at 55," February 10, 2011
- ↑ Your Missouri Courts, Press Release: "Chief justice delivers 2011 State of the Judiciary address"
- ↑ Star Advertiser, "Governor will keep high court nominees secret," February 10, 2011
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