State of Justice: August 2026 Vacancies and Elections Updates
Vacancies
Arkansas Supreme Court receives temporary appointment
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Cory Cox to fill Justice Barbara Webb’s seat on the court temporarily. Webb has been on leave since May while recovering from a head injury. Cox is currently a political consultant but previously served as chief of staff under Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge (R), when she served as attorney general. Cox also served as counsel to Gov. Mike Huckabee (R). Special Justice Cox will serve until December 31, 2026, or when Justice Webb is prepared to return to her duties, whichever occurs first.
Changes to come to the Idaho Supreme Court following Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan’s retirement
In April 2026, Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan announced his retirement from the court, effective October 30, 2026. Under the state constitution, the justices select the next chief justice and chose Justice Robyn Brody as Bevan’s successor. Gov. Brad Little (R) announced his appointment of Jason Scott, judge for the Fourth District. Scott has served as a judge since 2014 and previously worked in private practice, focusing on business and commercial law. Scott will serve the remainder of Bevan’s term, which expires in 2031, but to remain on the bench, Scott must face voters in a nonpartisan judicial election in May 2030.
Justice Christopher Jayaram sworn in
The Kansas Supreme Court gained its newest justice earlier this month when Christopher Jayaram was sworn in. Jayaram succeeded retired chief justice Marla Luckert, who stepped down from the court in March 2026. Jayaram is Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D) fifth appointment to the court. His term runs through January 8, 2029. To retain his seat, Jayaram must stand for retention in 2028. If voters retain him, he will serve his first full six-year term. Thereafter, Jayaram must stand for retention every six years to remain on the court. Kansas has a mandatory retirement age of 75.
Mississippi governor makes two appointments to supreme court
To fill two vacancies created by appointments of two former state supreme court justices to federal district courts, Gov. Tate Reeves (R) announced his two appointees to the court. First, to fill the seat vacated by former justice Robert Chamberlin, Reeves appointed Celeste Wilson. At the time, Wilson was a circuit court judge in DeSoto County. Wilson has more than 17 years of judicial experience and served as a county court judge from 2009 to 2017, when she joined the circuit court. Wilson was an assistant district attorney before becoming a judge. To fill former justice James Maxwell’s seat, Reeves appointed Amanda Jones Tollison. Tollison is currently a private practice attorney focused on regulatory and administrative, governmental, and electoral law. She also worked as counsel to former Gov. Haley Barbour (R). Both will serve through January 2028, and a special election to fill the seats will be held in November 2027.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) makes surprising nomination to state supreme court
To fill the seat left by former Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg, who stepped down from the court in March, Gov. Dan McKee (D) nominated superior court Judge Luis Matos. McKee’s deliberations over a shortlist of candidates sent to him by the Judicial Nominating Commission were surrounded by controversy. This was mostly due to one name on the shortlist, former state house speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, and an ethics code that banned “revolving door” politics between branches of state government. Former Gov. Lincoln Chaffee (D) appointed Matos in 2012. Prior to the bench, Matos worked at the U.S. Department of Justice and later as an assistant U.S. attorney in Delaware and Rhode Island. Matos must be confirmed by the state house and senate to serve on the court.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox makes two more appointments to state supreme court
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) nominated Matthew Bell, judge on the 5th District Court, and Michael Menssen, a private practice attorney, to serve on the Utah Supreme Court. Bell and Menssen will replace former Justice Diana Hagen, who resigned in May 2026, and Chief Justice Matthew Durrant who retired at the end of August. Bell and Menssen were on a list of 12 candidates interviewed and selected by the Appellate Judicial Nominating Commission. Bell has served as a judge since 2017 and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Utah and as a trial attorney with the Department of Justice. Menssen has been a private practice attorney for the entirety of his career and currently focuses his practice on employer side litigation at his firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution group. Bell and Menssen must be confirmed by the state senate in order to take office. If confirmed, these nominees would be Cox’s fourth and fifth additions to the seven-member court.
Elections
Georgia Ethics Commission issues fine against anti-LGBTQ extremist group for unreported involvement in state supreme court election
Frontline Action Policy (FPA), an anti-LGBTQ extremist hate group classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center, was fined $10,000 for failing to disclose contributions it made during the 2024 election cycle to influence the state supreme court election between former senator John Barrow and conservative-aligned Justice Andrew Pinson. FPA’s election spending is connected to The Concord Fund, formerly called Judicial Crisis Network, a dark money group linked to conservative Leonard Leo, best known for his influence over President Trump to capture the federal judiciary under conservative control. FPA received $450,000 from The Concord Fund and distributed $350,000 to Gov. Brian Kemp’s PAC, Georgians First Leadership Committee, which spent a considerable amount of money to influence the election. FPA also spent $180,000 on undisclosed independent expenditures, including text messages and paid media ads throughout the election.
Kansas voters reject legislature’s attempt to politicize judicial selection process
The Kansas Supreme Court and the state legislature have long been at odds with each other as the supreme court exercised its constitutional duty to act as a check on the other branches of government. The two branches’ tension centers on abortion, specifically following a 2019 decision that affirmed individuals’ right to make decisions about their own bodies. As a result, the legislature has attacked the court, most recently by threatening a constitutional amendment before voters to change the selection process for judges. Currently, Kansas uses merit selection. Under this model, an independent nominating commission screens and vets applicants for a vacancy through a transparent process open to public comment. The commission then forwards a shortlist of candidates to the governor for the final selection. The proposal sought to change the process from merit selection to elections. Voters resoundingly rejected the amendment, with support dropping from 61 to 39 percent.
Primary election results for Washington Supreme Court are in
Four out of the five seats up for election on the Washington Supreme Court this year had primary elections on August 4. In three of the elections, conservative-backed candidates trailed behind the incumbents. For position 1, incumbent Justice Colleen Melody with 53% and tax attorney Scott Edwards with 29% advanced. Position 5 had the narrowest margin of all the incumbents, with Justice Theo Angelis at 36% and challenger Judge Dave Larson at 32% advancing. Chief Justice Debra Stevens advanced easily to the general election for position 7 with 54%, and attorney Todd Bloom advanced with 27%. In the primary for position 3, conservative-backed candidate Judge David Stevens narrowly beat Judge Jamie Hawk, 35% to 33%.
