State of Justice July 2024: Vacancies and Elections Updates
Vacancies
Alaska Judicial Council closes applications for supreme court, applicants to be announced soon
The Alaska Judicial Council began the screening and vetting process to fill the vacancy of retiring Chief Justice Peter Maassen on the Alaska Supreme Court. The application closed on July 24 at 3pm. Now, the council will begin its screening process and publicize the applicants’ names and affiliations. All in-state active members of the Alaska State Bar are invited to comment on any of the applicants. Members of the public are also encouraged to submit their comments on the applicants. The judicial council will publish a press release to their website with a link for public comments. The council will privately interview the applicants. After the interviews conclude, the council will vote for the finalists in a public session and will send their selections to the governor. The governor will appoint a new justice from the slate. To fill the chief justice vacancy, the current supreme court justices will vote from amongst themselves to elevate one of the justices to chief justice.
Chief Justice Loretta Rush seeking third term as chief justice
After deliberation about seeking a third term, Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush announced her intent to run for a third term as chief justice in a letter to the statewide judiciary. The Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission will select the chief justice from the court’s five members on August 21. The seven-member commission is composed of three attorneys, three non-attorneys, and the chief justice or justice designate. Since the commission is selecting the chief justice, the attorney and non-attorney members will make the selection without a representative from the Supreme Court. The commission has invited the other justices to provide feedback on Rush.
Rush has the other supreme court justices’ support for her campaign for chief justice. She first joined the court in 2012 through an appointment by Gov. Mitch Daniels (R). Two years later, in 2014, she was elevated to the chief justice position. Rush was reappointed for a second term by the commission in 2019. If reappointed again, Rush will serve a five-year term as chief justice.
Connecticut chief justice retiring in September
The chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, Richard Robinson, will retire in September. Robinson was the first Black chief justice of the state’s highest court and has served as chief justice for the past six years. Gov. Ned Lamont (D) may choose to elevate one of the court’s associate justices to the position of chief justice and appoint a new associate justice, or he may appoint someone new to the court to serve as chief justice. Lamont will make a decision in the coming weeks.
Elections
In Mississippi, there is a contested election for Supreme Court District 1 Place 3. Five candidates are running, including incumbent Presiding Justice James (Jim) Kitchens. Kitchens was first elected to the court in 2008 and re-elected in 2016. Kitchens worked in private practice and as a district attorney before running for election to the supreme court. The other candidates running are State Senator Jenifer Branning, and attorneys Byron Carter, Ceola James, and Abby Gale Robinson. Branning is currently a Republican state senator in Mississippi and was elected to the legislature in 2016. She chairs the Highways and Transportation committee and is Vice-Chair of the Government Structure Committee. Branning maintains the private practice she opened after graduating from law school. Carter is a private practice attorney working across practices such as family law and personal injury. According to his website, Carter is running as a constitutional conservative. James is a former court of appeals and district chancery court judge. She stepped down from the bench in 2021 and has since worked as an attorney in private practice in criminal and civil law. Robinson is a private practice attorney in Jackson.
Sitting justices have filed for retention election in multiple states. In Utah, Chief Justice Matthew Durrant will stand for retention election. Durrant first joined the court in 2000 after an appointment by Gov. Michael Leavitt (R). Before his tenure on the supreme court, Durrant was a trial court judge and attorney in private practice. Iowa Supreme Court Justice David May must stand for retention election to serve a full term on the court. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) appointed May to the court in 2021. Prior to joining the Supreme Court, May served as a judge on the statewide court of appeals and as a district court judge. He worked in private practice before joining the bench.
