Features |
Courts Under Attack: What You Can Do About It
2005 has not been a good year for the nation’s judiciary: A state trial judge cut down in his own court room by a criminal awaiting sentencing; Members of a federal judge’s family brutally murdered-execution style-in a revenge killing; Judges attacked from the right and the left for simply doing their job-and worse, these judges threatened with the loss of benefits, removal and in some cases, even physical harm.
Nor have these unwarranted attacks happened without effect. Despite everything judges and court personnel have done to educate the public, a recent ABA poll has revealed serious gaps in the American people’s understanding about the function of judges and the wherewithal needed to do so effectively.
But is the recent spate of attacks just another bump in the judicial road, thus hurtful but temporary, or do they suggest the acceleration of a long term strategy by forces inimical to the rule of law that threatens the heart of the judicial function? Does this strategy threaten the very checks and balances of the constitutional system that are the basis of every American’s individual rights?
More importantly, if these assaults on courts and judges do pose such a threat, is there anything judges and you as judicial educators can do about it?
The Threat and the Challenge
While some judges and some lawyers downplay the very real threat
the recent attacks on the judiciary poses to the public’s trust and confidence in our courts and in our legal system, leading
members of the nation’s bench and bar surely do not.
At the Annual Meeting of the ABA in Chicago this past August, The House of Delegates, the Association’s policy making body, unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the threat such attacks pose to the independence of the country’s judicial branch and urged the nation’s attorneys and the public – including elected officials – to condemn such criticism and to join together to educate the people of the high stakes they have in the outcome of this historic struggle.
A number of indicators clearly demonstrate such concerns are not unfounded.
In recent years, in state elections from Michigan to Ohio and from Alabama to Tennessee, special interest groups have supported or opposed judicial candidates not based on their education, legal skills, or temperament but rather on their perceived positions on such “hot button” issues ranging from abortion to gay marriage to gun rights, just to mention a few. While such groups have the constitutional right to inform the public of their position in such elections, we the people ought not to let them divert the judicial election system from its intended purpose: the election of judges able and willing to decide cases fairly and in accordance with the law irrespective of their personal view or ideology respecting a matter.
Nor should the public remain silent in the face of unwarranted attacks upon particular judges for simply doing what judges do. Threats of removal, cutting benefits, taking away or not providing judges the resources they need to do their job is not only unfair and wrong but contrary to the public interest as well.
I could go on in this vein but the point is that ample evidence is there for those open minded enough to see that the recent attacks on our nation’s judiciary pose a threat to our constitutional system and to the body of rights this system protects and that the time has come for judges all across America to confront them in a way that is both effective and consistent with ethical standards regulating judicial behavior.
What You Can Do To Help Your Judges
The challenge and the threat presented by the orchestrated
campaign against the nation’s
judges by self-interested advocacy groups require judges to recognize that threat and to consider
ways to deal with it. The ABA’s National Conference of Specialized Court Judges has three
educational programs to offer that do this.
We offer a program that specifically addresses the new threats to the independence of the judiciary and what to do about it.
We offer a program that will help judges “engage the public in a conversation about the role of courts” through the development of skills enabling judges to deal effectively with the media.
Finally, we have a program which talks about the changing role judges are being asked to play in a changing society, both inside and outside the court room and more importantly, how judges can do so without violating the canons of judicial behavior.
While we stand ready to work with you in this regard, the important thing is that NASJE nationally
and through its membership in the states join the battle to protect our courts and judges by
providing them the education and training needed to help them meet the challenge presented by
the enemies of our constitutional system. Knowing you as I do, I know you will do just that and
for that, the judges you serve and work with owe you their gratitude and support.
Copyright
1999-2008, National Association
of State Judicial Educators
Contact
Web Developer
This Website is updated quarterly by NASJE.
The opinions expressed
herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Association of State Judicial Educators.