State of Justice: August 2026 Ethics Update

Louisiana Supreme Court chief justice unanimously removed from case by peers 

Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John Weimer was unanimously removed by the six other justices from a case involving a $421 million jury verdict against Blue Cross and Blue Shield after former supreme court justice Scott Crichton filed a motion to recuse Weimer. Weimer’s removal stems from a longstanding dispute with Crichton. Weimer previously accused Crichton and former justice James Genovese of misusing court funds to boost their own incomes or for their personal benefit. Also, in 2023, the other justices on the court created a committee that stripped the chief justice of all his administrative duties and had Crichton as the committee’s chair.  

North Carolina governor vetoes bill attempting to reshape the judicial discipline process 

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) vetoed a bill passed by the conservative-controlled legislature that would have granted state supreme court Chief Justice Paul Newby new powers throughout the judicial discipline process. Previously, the judicial standards commission had discretion over judicial discipline. However, HB377 would have given Newby the discretion to suspend judges without a pending formal investigation. The bill would also allow the supreme court to revise any formal recommendation or finding from the commission’s investigation. In vetoing the bill, Stein highlighted serious concerns about its potential impacts, including making judges more vulnerable to punishment for political views or exposing judges to potential influence on their rulings. Stein also pointed to other ways the legislature politicized the courts, including the switch from nonpartisan to partisan judicial elections and the creation of special judges who would hear challenges to state laws, with judges appointed by the legislature, in an effort to strip the court system of neutrality and remake it to favor their own political agenda.  

Planned Parenthood Association of Utah moves to request recusal of supreme court justice 

Utah Supreme Court Justice John Nielson could potentially be removed from a case challenging HB392, the bill that created a special constitutional court to hear challenges to state laws. Planned Parenthood Association of Utah and the League of Women Voters are plaintiffs in the litigation challenging HB392 and have both previously been legal adversaries of Nielson. Now, Planned Parenthood filed a motion before the state supreme court seeking to remove Nielson from its constitutional court challenge. In a case challenging the state’s trigger law that banned abortion following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Nielson, working in private practice at the time, filed an amicus brief on behalf of Pro-Life Utah. In a separate case involving the League of Women Voters’ challenge to the legislature’s overturning of a gerrymandering ban, Nielson recused himself because he wrote a brief on the case and was involved in legal strategy with the legislature.