State Supreme Courts Tackling a Variety of Issues

MADISON, Wisc., June 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to Judgepedia's Supreme Weekly, a weekly summary of State Supreme Court activity, the courts are busy with rulings on tax and budget issues, separation of powers, and same-sex divorce privileges.  One state has also begun its selection process for a new member of the high court.

The Idaho Supreme Court is set to hear the appeal of Representative Phil Hart, who stopped filing income tax returns in 1996, deeming them unconstitutional. Hart eventually resumed payments, but still owes back taxes. The issue now is no longer the legality of collecting taxes in general, but whether Hart waited too long to file his initial appeal and whether his most recent hearing should have been delayed, since he was participating in lawmaking in the Idaho House of Representatives

In Oklahoma, the government is accused of allocating $100 million meant for the state's Department of Transportation to the general fund to allow lawmakers to balance the 2012 budget. Because the budget is designed to take effect July 1, an expedited hearing will take place on June 21.

This week, a divided South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Governor Nikki Haley lacks the authority to order lawmakers back to work. Haley was adamant that the South Carolina Senate return to pass four resolutions. The court found that it would violate the separation of powers if the governor meddled with the General Assembly's calendar.

In a reversal of an Eighth District Court decision, the Wyoming Supreme Court found that courts in the state are authorized to allow same-sex divorces, though the unions are not performed in the state

With Michael Wolff retiring this August, Missouri is seeking someone to replace him on the state's high court. A judicial selection commission will choose three finalists for the position and one will be appointed to the court by Governor Jay Nixon. Nixon's appointee will need to run for retention in 2012.

After receiving emergency powers from State Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch, officials in areas of Arizona affected by wildfires are now able to enforce mandatory evacuation of all residents

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SOURCE Judgepedia