Judges Should Be Evaluated for Performance, Not Politics

This post originally appeared at the Huffington Post. When a judge is weighing the merits of a case, the popularity of her decision should be the last thing on her mind. And when casting a ballot for a judge, performance, not political issues, should be a voter’s first concern. Yet, outcome-based j...
February 22, 2011

Who Ruled that Rahm Couldn’t Run?

Whenever big political decisions come before little known judges, all eyes are on the bench. Since 1970, the Chicago Council for Lawyers (Chicago Appleseed’s partner organization), has been reviewing the performance of judges serving on Cook County Circuit Courts, as well as 1st District Candidates...
January 26, 2011

The Importance of Citizen Oversight of the Judiciary

The Iowa Independent reports that Doug Gross,—Iowan lawyer has served as a lobbyist and as a former advisor to Iowa Governor-elect Terry Branstad—has criticized the involvement of the Iowa Bar Association in judicial elections:“They’re elitists,” Gross said of the Bar Association in an interview wit...
December 14, 2010

The JPC’s Work Continues After the Election

For most of us, as the adrenaline rush of watching a close election wears off, we forget about the returns and put aside the research into candidates we did prior to the election. But at the Judicial Performance Commission (JPC), our work continues. All judges on the retention ballot were retained....
November 10, 2010

Next Steps For The Performance Commission

The Judicial Performance Commission has released the results of its evaluation of the judicial retention candidates. Of the 69 judges listed on the retention ballot in the November election, the JPC has found only three not recommended for retention: Judge Dorothy Jones, Judge Jeffrey Lawrence, and...
October 7, 2010