Overview
One of the greatest challenges in promoting and defending life, marriage and family, and religious liberty through public policy has been court decisions. Judges throughout the state and country have enacted public policy from the bench that ignores the will of the people and the role of the legislative branch to enact laws. Judicial activism has impacted every Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) issue. For years, one of CAP’s primary goals has been to bring true reform to how judges are selected and retained in Arizona.
This page will be updated regularly with the latest research.
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Additional Resources
Judicial Performance Reports – AZ Commission on Judicial Performance Review
New laws require more information on state appellate judges – Whitney Philips (Cronkite News)
New laws require more information on state appellate judges – Whitney Philips (Cronkite News)
“Come election time in 2012, voters will have online access to more information about state appellate judges when they decide whether to retain them, thanks to two new laws. The measures require an online listing of rulings in which those sitting on the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court benches decided the constitutionality of statutes…”
Arizona voters to get ballot measure on picking judges – AP
“Arizona voters will decide whether to lengthen the terms of judges and lessen the State Bar of Arizona’s voice in appointing judges. The Senate on Monday approved a resolution to put a referendum on judicial selection on the 2012 ballot.”
Without Merit: Why ”Merit” Selection Is the Wrong Way for States to Choose Judges – Clifford Taylor
“Any state appellate court judicial selection method—gubernatorial appointment with or without legislative confirmation, partisan or nonpartisan election, or the currently hyped and cleverly named merit selection—can and does create the potential for the selectee to feel, or be perceived to feel, beholden to the selector.”
Ouster of Iowa Judges Sends Signal to Bench – A.G. Sulzberger (New York Times)
“An unprecedented vote to remove three Iowa Supreme Court justices who were part of the unanimous decision that legalized same-sex marriage in the state was celebrated by conservatives as a popular rebuke of judicial overreach, even as it alarmed proponents of an independent judiciary.”
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