Lawton Nuss, the Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court stated that the current justices might invoke the "rule of necessity" to avoid recusal in an appeal concerning the court's power. A lower court decision struck down a 2014 state law, which took away the appointment power for district judges from the state supreme court. Given the involvement of the court's powers and public advocacy by the justices against the law at the time of passage, commentators argued that all of the justices might have to recuse themselves from the case. Instead, the Chief Justice suggested that mass recusal would be "impractical." Read more at the Topeka Capital-Journal.
The Montana Supreme Court struck a portion of a criminal judgment that seized and sold a defendant's firearms in order to pay for pre-sentencing jail expenses. The court held that the sentencing judge lacked authority to order the sale. Read more at the Great Falls Tribune.
