Law Commons^™

Building A Bench: A Close Look At State Appellate Courts Constructed By The Respective Methods Of Judicial Selection, Diane M. Johnsen

San Diego Law Review

This Article analyzes detailed career-path and other demographic data to determine the extent to which the various judicial selection methods advance diverse candidates to the bench. The results show many similaritiesamong the mix of objective characteristics found on appellate benches across the states, regardless of selection method, but there are some important differences ... Part I discusses the history of judicial selection in the states and reviews the prior empirical and theoretical literature concerning judicial selection methods and the differences among judges produced by those selection methods, mainly with respect to gender, race, and localism. Part II identifies the data …

Filling Federal Court Vacancies In A Presidential Election Year, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Scholars and politicians who closely track the federal judicial selection process appreciate that confirmations slow and ultimately halt over presidential election years, a phenomenon which has greater salience in a chief executive's last administration. The first section of this article canvasses selection in Barack Obama's tenure, ascertaining that Republicans cooperated little and contravened numerous traditions, especially after the party captured a majority. Thus, section two analyzes why the GOP did not collaborate and the consequences. Because that obstruction-which undercuts justice and regard for the coequal branches of government- will actually continue across 2016, the piece surveys devices, which could rectify …

Electing Justice Roush To The Supreme Court Of Virginia, Carl Tobias

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

In late April 2015, the Supreme Court of Virginia announced that Justice LeRoy F. Millette, Jr. would retire on July 31, 2015. Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe expeditiously created an open process for tapping a worthy successor. At July’s conclusion, the Governor appointed Fairfax County Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush, an experienced, consensus jurist. On a Sunday night, merely two days after Roush swore her oath of office, Republican General Assembly leaders proclaimed their caucuses’ intention to elect another individual, despite conceding that Roush was very qualified. During the August special session, this concerted GOP endeavor prompted a Republican senator to …

Confirming Circuit Judges In A Presidential Election Year, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Over 2016, President Barack Obama tapped accomplished, mainstream candidates for seven of twelve federal appeals court vacancies. Nevertheless, the Senate Judiciary Committee has furnished a public hearing and vote for merely three nominees and did not conduct a hearing for any other prospect this year. 2016 concomitantly is a presidential election year in which appointments can be delayed and stopped—a conundrum that Justice Antonin Scalia’s Supreme Court vacancy exacerbates. Because appellate courts comprise tribunals of last resort for practically all cases and critically need each of their members to deliver justice, the appointments process merits scrutiny. The Essay first evaluates …

Restoring The Civil Jury In A World Without Trials, Dmitry Bam

Faculty Publications

Early in this nation’s history, the civil jury was the most important institutional check on biased and corrupt judges. Recently, concerns about judicial bias, especially in elected state judiciaries, have intensified as new studies demonstrate the extent of that bias. But the jury of Hamilton, Madison, and Jefferson is nowhere to be found. In fact, the civil jury is virtually dead. It is used in less than 1% of all civil cases, and even when it makes a rare appearance, the jury’s powers have been significantly curtailed.

This article argues that we must reimagine the civil jury to match the …