judicial elections

As voting rights lawsuit looms, Louisiana lawmakers consider adding high court seats

By Billy Corriher

November 18, 2021 - Voting rights groups have challenged election districts for the Louisiana Supreme Court, which counts just one Black justice among its seven members. Legislators want to add new districts to settle the suit, but their most recent attempt broke down over the issue of how many should have majority-Black populations.

Politics

With big business backing, GOP revamps appellate courts in Southern states

By Billy Corriher

April 8, 2021 - The Texas legislature may consolidate the state's appeals courts, where Democrats have gained seats in recent elections — and watchdogs say the changes could violate the Voting Rights Act. The plan is being pushed by a big business group that has spent nearly $1 million to back GOP judicial candidates. A new West Virginia appeals court also had the support of big business.

Politics

Conservatives make inroads on Southern high courts

By Billy Corriher

November 6, 2020 - Conservatives won supreme court races across the South this week. The results could shift Kentucky’s high court to the right. The race for North Carolina chief justice is too close to call as mail-in ballots are still being tallied.

Politics

Election Day could mean big changes for Southern high courts

By Billy Corriher

August 26, 2020 - Southern states are holding judicial elections this year that will shape the outcome of critical cases involving voting rights and criminal justice. The elections could also bring unprecedented diversity to courts in some states.

Politics

Court rejects judicial election district for Louisiana parish's Black citizens

By Billy Corriher

August 12, 2020 - A federal appeals court recently overturned a lower court ruling that required a new majority-Black judicial election district in Terrebonne Parish. Only one Black judge has served there, but a white judge was re-elected after donning blackface and a prison jumpsuit for Halloween. The case is part of a broader struggle for judicial elections that are fair to Black voters.

Politics

GOP high court win in Arkansas follows ethics complaint over partisanship

By Billy Corriher

March 10, 2020 - The Arkansas Supreme Court will have a new conservative majority following Barbara Webb's win in last week's election. Webb's campaign was backed by GOP money, and she faces an allegation of violating ethics rules by campaigning as a Republican for the nonpartisan seat.

Politics

Big money will dominate high court elections in 2020

By Billy Corriher

January 16, 2020 - Since the U.S Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United 10 years ago, corporate campaign cash has poured into supreme court races across the South. With seats up for grabs this year in Arkansas, North Carolina, and West Virginia, that trend is likely to continue.

NC judges asked to speed up trial over 'racially segregated' judicial elections

By Billy Corriher

November 21, 2019 - The plaintiffs in a racial gerrymandering lawsuit want a North Carolina court to block judicial elections in districts that were drawn last year by the state legislature. In the racially diverse city of Charlotte, three of the eight districts are more than 70 percent white.

Texas considers ending judicial elections as Democrats gain ground

By Billy Corriher

November 6, 2019 - In Texas, which has long debated changes to its system of partisan judicial elections, Republican leaders began pushing an appointment system just a few months after last year's Democratic sweep in Houston's judicial elections. One proposed bill would put an end to elected judges in urban counties.

Politics

Five supreme court elections to watch in the South

By Billy Corriher

September 25, 2019 - Elections for high courts in five Southern states will take place over the next year, including special elections in Georgia, Kentucky, and Louisiana. Some of these courts are already facing unprecedented political pressure, and more money in high court races is coming from groups that don't disclose their donors.