Chief Justice of the United States

Washington voters filled all five Washington Supreme Court seats on the ballot this year, the most ever contested at once. Chief Justice Debra Stephens and Justices Colleen Melody and Theo Angelis each led their challengers comfortably, while King County Superior Court Judge Jaime Hawk won an open seat over former deputy prosecutor David Stevens. The fifth race remained close, with King County Superior Court Judge Sean O'Donnell holding a narrow edge over Court of Appeals Judge Ian Birk. The results come as the court faces an experience gap from several retirements, with Stephens positioning herself as a stabilizing figure for the incoming bench.

Alongside races for governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House, Alaska's Nov. 3 general election ballot includes nonpartisan judicial retention votes. Voters will decide whether 21 judges, including Alaska Supreme Court Justice Jude Pate, keep their seats. Judges don't face opponents; instead, the Alaska Judicial Council evaluates each on legal ability, impartiality, integrity, temperament and diligence, then issues a recommendation.

Notably, the council recommended against retaining two Kenai Peninsula judges, Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson and District Court Judge Martin Fallon, citing temperament, integrity and delayed rulings — the first such recommendations in over a decade. It also took no position on Juneau Superior Court Judge Marianna Carpeneti. If a judge loses retention, the seat stays vacant for months during the appointment process.

Wisconsin has rolled out a new court portal allowing people to complete and submit restraining order petitions online or by phone, rather than only in person. Launched last month, the system walks users through account creation, form selection, and direct submission to their circuit court. It currently covers domestic abuse and harassment petitions; child abuse and individual-at-risk petitions still require paper filing or the standard e-filing process.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Jill Karofsky said the court system's budget request asks the governor and Legislature for funding to extend the portal to child abuse and adult-at-risk petitions. The budget request also seeks $3 million for statewide courthouse security, half of which would fund a grant program for equipment and facility upgrades. Circuit court judges reported 129 security threats in 2025. Karofsky emphasized that everyone entering a courthouse — jurors, witnesses, staff, and the public — deserves to be safe.

The Iowa House Ethics Committee voted along party lines to shelve a complaint against Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, effectively ending the inquiry without further action. The complaint, filed by Kaylara Hoadley, alleged Lundgren misused official resources by writing a character statement on Iowa House letterhead to a sentencing judge on behalf of David Lehmann, a regular customer at her family's restaurant who was convicted of lascivious acts with a child. The committee's three Republicans voted to dismiss the complaint with prejudice, while three Democrats sought independent counsel to investigate further, resulting in a deadlock that shelved the request.

Committee chair Rep. Bill Gustoff called Lundgren's judgment "poor" and "improper" but said no evidence showed a violation of Iowa Code. Lundgren denied wrongdoing, calling the complaint politically motivated. A separate complaint from Jennifer Hart alleging a related ethics code violation was unanimously dismissed. Lehmann was convicted in April after a retrial and received probation and sex-offender registration in lieu of prison.

Texas voters will decide in November whether to keep the three Republican justices currently sitting on the state's 15th Court of Appeals, a court created by the Legislature in 2023 to hear civil appeals involving the state, challenges to state laws' constitutionality, and business court cases. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed all three justices in 2024, and this is their first time facing voters; a win secures a six-year term. All primaries were uncontested, with one Republican and one Democrat per race advancing to the general election.

The Republican incumbents — a chief justice and two associate justices — are being challenged by three Democrats with appellate and judicial backgrounds. In their first year and a half on the bench, the current justices have ruled on marijuana policy, abortion policy, and campaign finance disputes, at times drawing criticism from Attorney General Ken Paxton. Because the court reviews nearly all major civil cases involving the state before they reach the Texas Supreme Court, its composition carries significant weight for pending and future litigation over state policy.

Three seats on Texas's new 15th Court of Appeals are up for election in November, marking the first time voters will weigh in since Gov. Greg Abbott appointed the court's inaugural members in 2024. Created by the Legislature in 2023, the court handles civil cases involving the state, challenges to state laws' constitutionality, and business-court appeals before they reach the Texas Supreme Court. Winners will serve six-year terms.

Primaries were uncontested, leaving one Republican incumbent facing one Democrat in each race: Chief Justice Scott Brister vs. Jerry Zimmerer, Place 2's Scott Field vs. Tom Baker, and Place 3's April Farris vs. Marc Meyer. All three incumbents hold substantial fundraising leads, backed heavily by Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC and other business and legal interests. Since taking the bench, the Republican-majority court has ruled on marijuana policy, abortion, and campaign finance, at times drawing criticism from Attorney General Ken Paxton. The outcomes will shape the ideological direction of a court with broad authority over state-related litigation.

The Wisconsin Court System has launched a statewide online Restraining Order Portal, allowing domestic abuse and harassment victims to file temporary restraining order petitions without visiting a courthouse in person. The system went live last month and was highlighted publicly as Domestic Violence Awareness Month began.

The portal guides users through preparing and submitting petitions, including creating an eFiling account, accessing required court forms, and routing them to the correct circuit court. It can be used on a computer, phone, or other mobile device. Eight counties, including Adams, Dane, and Sauk, piloted the system over the summer, with 72 petitions filed during that period. Chief Justice Jill J. Karofsky said the goal is to make seeking court-ordered protection easier during an often urgent and difficult time. The portal currently covers only domestic abuse and harassment petitions, not child abuse or individual-at-risk cases.

California's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco broke state election law when he seized more than 650,000 ballots from the county's registrar of voters earlier this year, and broke it again by defying Attorney General Rob Bonta's order to reverse course. Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero wrote that state law mandates ballots remain in the custody of election officials, rejecting Bianco's argument that a search warrant justified the seizure. The court ordered Bianco to return the ballots and end his investigation pending review by Bonta's office. A second ruling affirmed the attorney general's constitutional authority to directly supervise sheriffs, rejecting Bianco's claim that such oversight is merely advisory.

Bianco seized the ballots after a November 2025 special election on redistricting, spurred by activists alleging discrepancies later attributed to misread preliminary data. In response, California enacted two new laws making it a felony to seize ballots or voting machines before certification. Bianco has said his investigation will continue regardless of the ruling.