State of Justice June 2024: Vacancies and Elections Updates
Vacancies
South Carolina to have an all-white supreme court
Chief Justice Donald Beatty, the South Carolina Supreme Court’s only sitting Black justice, will retire this summer. Beatty was elected to become an associate Justice for the South Carolina Supreme Court in 2007 and was elevated to chief justice in 2017. Judge Letitia Verdin, a white woman, won the legislative election to take Beatty’s seat after the other two candidates, Judges Jocelyn Newman and Blake Hewitt, dropped from consideration. When Beaty retires, the South Carolina Supreme Court will no longer have any people of color serving on it, despite South Carolina’s significant Black and Latino populations. In short, the supreme court achieved gender representation at the cost of racial representation. Verdin will only be the third woman elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court. And while gender diversity is important, many still raise concerns regarding the lack of diversity on the state supreme court.
New Jersey Governor affirms John Jay Hoffman as new supreme court justice
In June, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced John Jay Hoffman as his next nominee to the supreme court. Hoffman will replace retiring Justice Lee Solomon after Solomon turns 70, the state’s mandatory retirement age, in August this year. Hoffman is a former conservative acting attorney general under the Christie administration during 2013 to 2016. By nominating Hoffman, Murphy maintains the state tradition of maintaining a partisan balance on the bench. To join the bench, Hoffman must be confirmed by the state senate. A unique feature of New Jersey’s confirmation process is an unwritten senatorial courtesy rule requiring approval from the nominee’s home-county senators. A conservative state senator previously weaponized this rule during Justice Rachel Wainer Apter’s confirmation process, another Murphy nominee. If confirmed, Hoffman will be Murphy’s fifth addition to the state’s supreme court.
Alaska chief justice to retire in 2025, opening vacancy on the court
Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Peter J. Massen will retire in January 2025. The Alaska Judicial Council is accepting applications for the vacancy through July 24 at 3:00pm. The council is a seven-member body comprised of three attorneys selected by the state bar, three non-attorneys nominated by the governor and confirmed by the legislature, and the supreme court’s chief justice. The applicants will undergo a screening process involving interviews by the council, surveys by the state bar, public hearings, and an opportunity for community feedback. After screening, the council will send a slate of candidates to the governor to choose his appointee. Once appointed, the new justice will face a non-partisan retention election in the next general election in an even-numbered year. If the justice receives a majority vote, they remain in office for an additional term.
Elections
Top candidates advance following primary election for two open Montana Supreme Court seats
In Montana, two sitting justices, Chief Justice Mike McGrath and Justice Dirk Sandefur announced their retirements later this year. Two candidates have emerged in the primary election races for both seats. Broadwater County attorney Corey Swanson received 46% of the vote and former federal magistrate judge Jerry Lynch earned 38% of the vote to move forward in the race to replace the chief justice. For the seat being vacated by Sandefur, Montana District Judge Katherine Bidegaray won 49% of the vote and Flathead County District Judge Dan Wilson received 35%. Both will advance to the November general election. Though Montana elects its supreme court justices in nonpartisan elections, Lynch and Bidegaray are receiving support from progressive groups while Swanson and Wilson are being supported by conservative groups.
Candidates file to challenge two of three incumbent Minnesota Supreme Court justices
Two of the three Minnesota Supreme Court justices whose terms are expiring in 2025 received challengers and will appear on the General Ballot in November. Stephen Emery, an attorney and perennial candidate, filed to run for the seat currently held by Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, who was the first Black woman to join the Minnesota Supreme Court when she was first appointed in 2015. Gov. Tim Walz (D) selected Hudson to fill the chief justice seat vacated by the retirement of former Chief Justice Lorie Gildea in 2023. She must run for a full term to continue serving as the court’s chief justice. Emery previously ran for U.S. Senate in 2018 and for Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District in 2020. He ran for Yellow Medicine County attorney in 2022 and won by 158 votes but refused to assume the position. His campaign website for that election characterized him as a conservative voice for Minnesota and contained materials that challenged election integrity and encouraged people to vote only on Election Day. He works as a legal writer and analyst. Trust and estates attorney Matthew Hanson filed to challenge Justice Karl Procaccini, who Walz appointed to the court in 2023 to fill the vacancy created by Hudson’s elevation to the chief judgeship. Hanson unsuccessfully challenged District Court Judge Charles Webber in 2022 and earned endorsements from Republicans in two state senate districts. The term will expire in 2029. Justice Anne McKeig is also facing reelection but did not field a primary challenger. She will automatically advance to the November 5 general election alongside the two candidates in each contested race. Minnesota judges are elected in nonpartisan elections.
Five Republicans, two Democrats have filed for Michigan Supreme Court seats so far
Seven candidates have announced campaigns for seats on the Michigan Supreme Court. One seat is being vacated by the retirement of Justice David Viviano and the other is currently held by incumbent Justice Kyra Harris Bolden. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) appointed Bolden to the court in 2022 to fill the vacancy left by Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack. She is the first Black woman to serve on the state’s highest court. She must run in a special election in 2024 to fill the remainder of the term, which expires in 2029. She was previously a criminal defense lawyer and a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. She is being challenged by criminal defense attorney Alexandria Taylor, Circuit Court Judge Patrick O’Grady, and Matthew DePerno. DePerno was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for attorney general in 2022 and worked as an attorney for Republicans attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Michigan. He is currently facing charges of conspiracy to commit vote machine tampering and other violations of Michigan election laws stemming from these efforts. Three candidates have announced campaigns for the open seat: Republican State Rep. Andrew Fink of Hillsdale; Judge Mark Boonstra, who was appointed to the Michigan Court of Appeals by Gov. Rick Snyder (R) in 2012; and Kimberly Thomas, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Law and the co-founder and director of the university’s Juvenile Justice Clinic. In Michigan’s unique selection process, one candidate chosen by each of the state’s registered political parties will appear on the nonpartisan general election ballot on November 5. Democrats have endorsed Bolden to fill the remainder of her term and Thomas for the open seat. Republicans will select one candidate for each seat in the coming months.
