William Connolly (Nebraska)
From Ballotpedia
William Connolly
Prior offices
Nebraska Supreme Court District 5
Education
William Connolly was a justice on the Nebraska Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court on December 15, 1994 by Governor Ben Nelson (D). Connolly was last retained by voters in 2010. That term was set to expire in January 2017.[1]
Justice Connolly announced in April 2016 that he would retire effective August 1, 2016.[2] He was succeeded by Justice Jeffrey Funke.
Education
Connolly received his undergraduate degree from Creighton University and his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law in 1963.[1]
Career
- 1994-2016: Justice, Nebraska Supreme Court
- 1992-1994: Judge, Nebraska Court of Appeals
- 1972-1991: Attorney in private practice
- 1967-1972: Adams County Attorney
- 1964-1966: Deputy Adams County Attorney[1]
Elections
2010
Connolly was retained with 71% of the vote.[3]
- Main article: Nebraska judicial elections, 2010
2004
Connolly was retained by voters in 2004 with 75% of the vote.[4]
1998
Connolly was retained by voters in 1998.
2012 judicial performance evaluation
Every two years, the Nebraska State Bar Association compiles responses from lawyers to evaluate judges in the state. Subjects are rated in seven categories, then a determination is made for whether the judge should be retained. The seven categories considered are: legal analysis; impartiality; attentiveness; opinions; judicial temperament and demeanor; appropriate communication; and timeliness.
92 percent of respondents stated that Justice Connolly should be retained in office. To read the full evaluation, see: Nebraska State Bar Association, 2012 Evaluation Results.
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Connolly received a campaign finance score of -0.67, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.18 that justices received in Nebraska.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[5]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Nebraska Justice William Connolly. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Official website of the Nebraska judiciary
- Nebraska Judicial Branch, William M. Connolly - District 5
- WOWT.com, "Electrocution Ruled "Cruel and Unusual," February 9, 2008
- Associated Press "Neb. high court upholds rape, robbery convictions" September 16, 2011
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Justice Connolly biography from Nebraska Courts
- ↑ State of Nebraska Judicial Branch, "Supreme Court Justice William M. Connolly to Retire August 1, 2016," April 11, 2016
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, Nebraska - Summary Vote Results
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, 2004 Election Results
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
