Update (January 23, 2015):  Oral arguments were held in Williams-Yulee earlier this week. That case will decide whether it is constitutional to bar judicial candidates from personally soliciting attorneys for campaign contributions. And the justices seem to be dividing along the usual lines. With Justice Kennedy, who will likely be the swing vote, largely silent […]

Next week, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether another regulation governing judicial elections is constitutional or whether it violates the first amendment. On Tuesday, January 20, the Court will consider Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar. (For a free webinar on January 15 with background on the case, click here.) In that case, the Florida […]

  As the song goes: You’ve got to accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative And latch on to the affirmative Don’t mess with Mister In-Between When it comes to judicial elections, keeping politics out is accentuating the positive.  That helps assure that the best candidates – most likely to really make decisions based on the merits […]

Around this time of the year, Minnesota lawyers are starting to receive questions from the most diligent voters. Who is running for judge and who should they vote for? This year is particularly challenging since the League of Women Voters is not publishing its voter guide because its funder (Target) dropped out. So a usual […]

Judicial seats are on the ballot again this year. And that means voters will be looking for information about candidates. Information is usually hard to come by for judicial races.  Especially meaningful information. Judicial plebiscites are an important way attorneys can help. Plebiscites are being held to identify preferences of bar members for the state-wide […]