News

January 27, 2023 Newsweek

Gov. Noem’s Threat to Prosecute Pharmacists Is Showboating | Opinion

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's threats to prosecute pharmacists who dispense the abortion pill seems like showboating. It reminds me of Trumps wall to prevent illegal immigration, when most illegal immigration is caused by people flying in and overstaying their visas. The same thing is going to result here. The governor might very well ban pharmacies from distributing the abortion medications, but ultimately people will acquire it by using telehealth and having it mailed to them. So, there's going to be another set of controversies to come I think, but for right now the main thing to remember is that states are interfering with a pregnant person's right to choose.

January 18, 2023 Courthouse News Service

Lawmakers block Hochul pick for New York’s top judge

Jake Faleschini, legal director for the Alliance for Justice Action Campaign, similarly commended the panel for rebuffing Hochul’s pick. “The senators did the right thing today in rejecting Hector LaSalle’s nomination to the New York Court of Appeals. His anti-worker, anti-abortion, and anti-criminal justice record proved disqualifying,” he said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “New Yorkers deserve better than a judge with such a backwards perspective. They deserve a Court that is committed to protecting civil rights and upholding equal justice for all.“

January 18, 2023

AFJ Action Applauds Rejection of Hector LaSalle to New York’s Highest Court

Today the New York State Senate Judiciary Committee voted to reject the nomination of Justice Hector LaSalle to the state’s highest court. LaSalle has a disturbingly conservative record, raising questions as to why Gov. Kathy Hochul nominated him and lobbied so persistently for his confirmation.

January 9, 2023

New York Governor Must Abandon Conservative Pick For High Court

In late December, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul nominated Hector LaSalle to be the new chief judge of the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. The opening is an opportunity to swing the Court from a 4–3 conservative majority to a 4–3 liberal majority, but LaSalle brings a conservative record that is anti-worker, anti-abortion, and anti-criminal justice. While LaSalle enjoys some support given that he would be New York’s first Latino chief judge, his conservative background has earned him significant opposition.

November 25, 2022 Newsweek

The Division in America Is Much Deeper Than You Think | Opinion

We now have a court that has three trump appointees, and Justice Thomas who has signaled to them that he is ready to reconsider recent precedent on the grounds that he doesn't believe in substantive due process. There are massive divisions in our society. They may not appear as naturally in the polling, but I actually think they exist, both in terms of the divisions between the different branches of government and between the states.

November 22, 2022

AFJ Action Applauds Appointment of Kyra Harris Bolden to Michigan Supreme Court

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced today her intentions to appoint Rep. Kyra Harris Bolden to a vacancy on the Michigan Supreme Court. In September, Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack notified Whitmer of her plans to retire from the bench by the end of this year. Bolden will fill that vacancy. She challenged Justice Brian Zahra, an incumbent conservative and Federalist Society member, in the 2022 election, and was the first runner-up.

November 9, 2022

State Supreme Court Races Face Mixed Results

Voters are awakening to how vital our state courts are to preserving the rights and protections we hold so dear. With unprecedented turnout during a midterm election, voters in states like Michigan, Illinois, and Kansas turned out to elect or retain judges who have demonstrated their commitment to the rule of law and equal justice.

November 4, 2022

Anti-Abortion Incumbent Justice on Michigan Supreme Court Once Paid For Abortion

It was reported this week that Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian Zahra paid for the abortion of his ex-wife Alyssa Jones while they were dating in 1983. Jones came forward to share this news as Zahra seeks reelection to the Court given his opposition to Proposal 3, a ballot initiative to guarantee abortion access under Michigan law. Zahra was one of two justices who dissented in a challenge to Proposal 3, arguing it should not be placed on the ballot merely because of word-spacing typos.

November 3, 2022 Newsweek

State Supreme Courts Are the New Battleground for Abortion Rights | Opinion

In early August, Kansas voters resoundingly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have declared there was no state-based right to an abortion. One would think that a vote as decisive as this 59 percent–41 percent result would have been the end of the discussion. But opponents of abortion in Kansas and other states have another target this election season: their state supreme court.

October 14, 2022 Governing

State Supreme Court Races: Big Issues, Big Money

Democrats and progressives are beginning to catch up with Republicans’ spending. In 2018, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the North Carolina Democratic Party, which then spent heavily to back a high-court candidate. The progressive judicial advocacy group Alliance for Justice's Action Campaign backed a candidate in Wisconsin’s pandemic-plagued high-court election in 2020.

September 30, 2022 Associated Press

Abortion ruling intensifies fight over state supreme courts

One group is Alliance for Justice Action Campaign, which supports abortion access. It plans to reach voters in Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio. “We were already planning to be involved in these states, but Dobbs has heightened our interest and heightened our sense of purpose and sense of mission on it,” said Jake Faleschini, the group’s legal director for state courts, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court decision.

September 1, 2022 Bloomberg Law Podcast

Vaccine Suit, State Judicial Races, Trans Protections

Jake Faleschini, Legal Director for State Courts at Alliance for Justice Action Fund, joins to talk about state supreme court judicial races and which courts could flip from Republican to Democrat control or vice versa.