Supreme Court races have positive outcomes

The goal of fair and balanced courts in states throughout the country was advanced in a number of state Supreme Court elections, according to the American Insurance Association.

Contestable state Supreme Court elections were held in 16 states in the recent midterm elections. Candidates’ judicial philosophy — the conservative approach of interpreting the law as written versus the activists’ attempt to legislate from the bench — was a deciding factor for business interests active in judicial races across the country, including AIA.

In the Midwest, the election of two fair-minded justices in Ohio is all-important. With the victories of Justice Terrence O’Donnell and appellate Judge Robert R. Cupp, common sense justices now hold a 6-1 majority on Ohio’s high court, the AIA written statement said.

“Supreme Court races in Ohio have been hard fought for several years,” said John Birkinbine, AIA assistant vice president, Midwest Region.

“Electing fair minded judges has been critical to improving the liability environment in Ohio, and yesterday’s results ensure that legal reform in the state will continue to advance.”

In other parts of the country the fight for civil justice reform was shown in Alabama, where four contests for associate justice and the chief justice were on yesterday’s ballot. The nine-member court, previously all Republican, will now have its first female chief justice, Sue Bell Cobb, a Democrat who is currently a member of the state court of criminal appeals. The other four contests were won by Republicans.

“We’re heartened by the voters’ decision to maintain a strong strict constructionist majority on the court,” said Cecil Pearce, AIA vice president, Southeast Region. “We are hopeful that the new chief justice will also be a jurist in that tradition.”

Insurers also had positive results in Kentucky, where the conservative candidate prevailed in three of four contested races for the supreme court. Kentucky’s low ranking of 34th in a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey of state judicial climates, along with other troubling trends in the state’s judicial system, spurred unprecedented interest by the business community in this year’s judicial elections.

The goals of improving Kentucky’s legal environment and its economic development potential moved a step closer to being achieved with the outcome of the midterm elections.

Source: American Insurance Association