judicial independence

January 27, 2022 - As the N.C. Supreme Court prepares to hear a lawsuit challenging gerrymandered election districts, a prominent Republican leader has brought up the possibility of the legislature impeaching judges. It hasn't happened in well over a century, when white supremacist Democrats impeached two justices, as well as a Klan-fighting governor.

January 13, 2022 - A Republican justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit filed against his father, the leader of the state Senate, over whether a racially gerrymandered legislature can amend the constitution. The decision came after his colleagues decided not to disqualify him, amid a pressure campaign by powerful conservative forces that accused the court of engaging in a coup and threatened justices with impeachment.

October 28, 2021 - Families in resource-starved public school districts have filed lawsuits challenging unequal education funding, and three pending cases in Southern states seek to compel reluctant legislatures to provide more money for poorer districts. Republicans in North Carolina are now discussing impeaching judges who've ordered them to take action.

April 8, 2021 - The Texas legislature may consolidate the state's appeals courts, where Democrats have gained seats in recent elections — and watchdogs say the changes could violate the Voting Rights Act. The plan is being pushed by a big business group that has spent nearly $1 million to back GOP judicial candidates. A new West Virginia appeals court also had the support of big business.

November 6, 2019 - In Texas, which has long debated changes to its system of partisan judicial elections, Republican leaders began pushing an appointment system just a few months after last year's Democratic sweep in Houston's judicial elections. One proposed bill would put an end to elected judges in urban counties.

February 15, 2019 - Groups funded by Big Oil and other special interests are reviving a scheme — refined by a Koch brothers associate in the 1990s — to evaluate judges in Louisiana and Mississippi based on whether they rule in favor of corporations. It's the latest effort to stack the judiciary.

January 24, 2019 - Legislators in Kentucky and West Virginia are discussing constitutional amendments to give governors unprecedented control over choosing judges, who are currently elected. The moves are part of a broader trend of Republican politicians asserting more control over the judiciary.