Gavel to Gavel

2023 Newsletters

May 26Louisiana and Alabama: Judgeship allocations
May 19Arizona: Legislature approves bill to transfer licensing of attorneys from state bar to the supreme court and prohibits the court from requiring an attorney to be a member of any organization to become or remain a licensed attorney
May 12Delaware: House unanimously approves measure that requires at least one supreme court justice to reside in Kent County, one in Sussex County, and two in New Castle County
May 5Kansas: Under a newly signed law starting in 2025 Kansas judges' salaries will be directly tied to that of federal district court judges; a similar plan was vetoed in New Mexico earlier this year
April 28Minnesota and Missouri: Legislation to protect the personal information of judges, court staff, and their families advance
April 21Colorado: House approves a bill requiring all courts to provide remote access for the public to observe any criminal court proceeding conducted in open court
April 14Colorado, Montana, and Tennessee: Bills focused on judicial disciplinary proceedings and commissions advance
April 7Montana: House and Senate approve separate plans to require judges to recuse for campaign contributions
March 31New Hampshire: Constitutional amendment to raise the mandatory judicial retirement age from 70 to 75
March 24Maine:  Bill would shrink the state's Supreme Judicial Court from 7 members down to 5
March 17Idaho: Senate approves plan to overhaul that state's judicial selection system and give its governor more power
March 10New Mexico: Plan to tie state judicial salaries to the salary of federal magistrate judges advances
March 2 Montana: Resolution to declare Marbury v. Madison misinterpreted approved by the full Senate
Feb. 24 Utah: Senate approves bill to overhaul state's judicial selection/nominating commissions
Feb. 17 Virginia: Bills to protect the personal information of retired judges advance in House and Senate
Feb. 10 Colorado: Legislation would mandate remote public access to criminal proceedings
Feb. 3 Texas and North Dakota: Considering bills to make leaking draft judicial opinions misdemeanors
Jan. 27 New York: Bill would require judges' financial disclosure statements to be posted online
Jan. 20Missouri: Bills would require judges to render decisions within specified time frames or face $100-a-day fines