From left to right, Judge Peter Reyes of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye (fmr), and Director and Associate Instructional Professor at the University of Houston Peter Koelling.
Election litigation has nearly tripled in the period since the disputed 2000 U.S. presidential election that culminated in the Supreme Court’s Bush v. Gore decision.
On October 23, 2024, former Chief Justice Mark Martin, High Point Law’s Founding Dean and Professor of Law, participated in the American Bar Association (ABA) webinar titled “What Judges Should Know About Election Law.”
Attended by judges across the nation, this program was created to help prepare courts for an influx of cases related to the upcoming election.
An article about the program entitled “U.S. courts prepare for increase in election law” is accessible on the ABA website here.
Dean Martin during his time on the bench.
Dean Martin shared, “We obviously don’t make decisions as judges according to the polls…but this counsels judges to exercise caution in election cases. Fairness, impartiality and independence should be the touchstones.”
Other panelists included former Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye, and Judge Peter Reyes of the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
The program was moderated by Peter Koelling, former Director of the Chief Counsel Judicial Division for the ABA and current Director and Associate Instructional Professor at the University of Houston.
When asked about the importance of the program, Dean Martin said:
As a former judge, I know how difficult it can be to keep up with the ever-evolving area of election law while simultaneously managing a busy docket. I’m grateful to the ABA and my colleagues for organizing this important program for judges across the United States.