State Courts
Feature
2020 Election Litigation: The Courts Held
by Amelia Ashton Thorn, David F. Levi and John Macy
Vol. 105 No. 1 (2021) | The Courts HeldWe had an extraordinary election in November 2020. More Americans voted than in any other election, even though an infectious virus still stalked the nation. Immediately following election day, we […]
Briefs
State Courts Brace for Budget Hit
Vol. 105 No. 1 (2021) | The Courts HeldThe COVID-19 pandemic forced drastic changes in the way courts operate and function. It also caused many courts to change their budgetary practices. An October 2020 survey of the Conference […]
Judicial Honors
Judicial Honors (Spring 2017)
Vol. 101 No. 1 (2017) | Citizen-centered CourtsSenior Judge MICHAEL M. BAYLSON of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania received the James Wilson Award from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in honor […]
Feature
Saving Our Profession: It’s Up to Us
by Joe Webster
Vol. 101 No. 1 (2017) | Citizen-centered CourtsA number of years ago, a man told me he had been charged with a crime. I asked him how his case was going. With all sincerity and with an […]
Feature
Rebuild our Courts: State Chief Justices Call for Action to Achieve Civil Justice for All
by Gregory Mize and Thomas A. Balmer
Vol. 101 No. 1 (2017) | Citizen-centered CourtsMany remember the alarming call to mission control from the Apollo 13 spacecraft crew. “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” Well, dear Judicature readers, we denizens of the judicial system have […]
Feature
Picking Judges: How Judicial-Selection Methods Affect Diversity in State Appellate Courts
Vol. 101 No. 1 (2017) | Citizen-centered CourtsIn the beginning, judges in the 13 original states either were appointed by the governor or selected by the legislature. Over the next 80 years, however, a majority of states […]
Lastly
Lastly: A Judge Honors the Activist Who Brought Her to Jail
Vol. 101 No. 1 (2017) | Citizen-centered CourtsPictured Above, Left to Right: Chief Tammy Morris, Sheriff Mike Williams, Judge Virginia Baker Norton, Richard McKissick, and Mayor Lenny Curry visiting the D.A.W.N. program in 2015. I met Richard […]
Redlines
A better first paragraph, please (PDF)
Vol. 101 No. 2 (2017) | Can science save justice?Start strong. Our writing guru, Joseph Kimble, breaks down an opinion’s first paragraph to show a better way. Original Pending before the Court is a letter motion by plaintiff Amy […]
Feature
Building Administrative Scaffolding in Small Courts: Experiences in the U.S. and Abroad
Vol. 104 No. 3 (2020-21) | Judges on the MarchIn 2014, two years after graduating law school, I was appointed to serve as a municipal court judge in Guadalupe, Ariz.1 The town had the highest unemployment rate in Maricopa […]
Feature
Assessing Safety and Security Challenges in State Courts
by Mary Ellen Barbera and Joseph Baxter
Vol. 104 No. 3 (2020-21) | Judges on the MarchAs the number of reported incidents of courthouse violence has increased,1 awareness of the need to improve security in state courts has also grown. At the same time, courts have […]

