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Judicial Discipline Through The Prism Of Public Law Values: A Contextual Analysis Of Bill C-9, An Act To Reform The Judges Act, Richard Devlin, Sheila Wildeman

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Bill C-9 is the first significant legislative reform to the Judges Act in five decades. The goal of the legislation is to enhance public confidence in the administration of justice by modernizing the complaints and discipline regime for federally appointed judges. This essay is a contextual analysis of Bill C-9. The authors begin by outlining a conceptual framework which identifies eight public law goods that can guide an assessment of a complaints and discipline system. They then locate Bill C-9 in a historical context by identifying a crisis of legitimacy that had overtaken the Canadian Judicial Council by the early …

Depoliticizing The Supreme Court: How To Rein In Those Answerable To No One?, Dana Ortiz-Tulla ,Esq

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

This Note will discuss some of the Commission’s findings and other interesting suggestions to determine whether it is possible to rein in the modern-day Court. Part I will explain the inherently political nature of the Supreme Court. Part II will briefly present how the Supreme Court acquired its power. Part III will discuss several prominent proposals for Supreme Court reform. Finally, Part IV will examine whether any recommendations may depoliticize the Court.

Against Circumspection: Judges, Religious Symbols, And Signs Of Moral Independence, Benjamin Berger

Benjamin L. Berger

This chapter questions the interpretation of religious ­ signs and symbols— and the interpretive possibilities that emerge when we demand more from one another in thinking about such symbols— by ­ examining the question of judges and religious dress in the particular context of the judge’s role as wielding the coercive force of the state through the exercise of criminal punishment. I advance the argument that recent debates have proceeded on a misleadingly simplistic approach to understanding the meaning of signs of religious belonging and identity in this setting and that, with this, we miss an opportunity for a deeper …

Against Circumspection: Judges, Religious Symbols, And Signs Of Moral Independence, Benjamin Berger

Articles & Book Chapters

This chapter questions the interpretation of religious ­ signs and symbols— and the interpretive possibilities that emerge when we demand more from one another in thinking about such symbols— by ­ examining the question of judges and religious dress in the particular context of the judge’s role as wielding the coercive force of the state through the exercise of criminal punishment. I advance the argument that recent debates have proceeded on a misleadingly simplistic approach to understanding the meaning of signs of religious belonging and identity in this setting and that, with this, we miss an opportunity for a deeper …

Praise Defenders, Not Just Prosecutors, Stephen E. Henderson

Stephen E Henderson

Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor: A Legacy Of Judicial Independence, Pierce J. Reed

Akron Law Review

An introduction to a special edition of the Akron Law Review, which celebrates the work of Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor during her first decade as a member of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

Crocodiles In The Bathtub: Maintaining The Independence Of State Supreme Courts In An Era Of Judicial Politicization, Gerald F. Uelmen

Notre Dame Law Review

No abstract provided.

Administrative Law: Working Together For Professionalization - Administrative Law Judges, The Judiciary, And The Community , Elizabeth B. Lacy

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

The Administrative Judiciary's Independence Myth, James E. Moliterno

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

The New Eu Legal History: What's New, What's Missing?, Mark A. Pollack

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Federally Appointed Judges In Canada: Analyzing The Controversy, Troy Riddell, Lori Hausegger, Matthew Hennigar

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This commentary describes our experiences in trying to undertake a judicial performance evaluation of federally appointed judges in Canada. Some respondents were enthusiastic about the project, but others were strongly opposed to it and worried about the effects that our survey would have on judicial independence. After describing the feedback that we received and the fallout from our project, we examine the relationship between judicial performance evaluation and judicial independence. We argue that a well-conceived judicial performance evaluation does not violate judicial independence. We then explore the resistance to judicial performance evaluation in Canada, using a comparative lens. The explanation …

University Of Baltimore Symposium Report: Debut Of “The Matthew Fogg Symposia On The Vitality Of Stare Decisis In America”, Zena D. Crenshaw-Logal

Zena Denise Crenshaw-Logal

On the first of each two day symposium of the Fogg symposia, lawyers representing NGOs in the civil rights, judicial reform, and whistleblower advocacy fields are to share relevant work of featured legal scholars in lay terms; relate the underlying principles to real life cases; and propose appropriate reform efforts. Four (4) of the scholars spend the next day relating their featured articles to views on the vitality of stare decisis. Specifically, the combined panels of public interest attorneys and law professors consider whether compliance with the doctrine is reasonably assured in America given the: 1. considerable discretion vested in …

The Rule Of Law And Enforcement Of Chinese Tort Law, Vincent R. Johnson

Faculty Articles

The majority of the work necessary to advance the Rule of Law in China is yet to be done. This is particularly the case as it relates to deterring accidents and compensating injuries. The Rule of Law is concerned with much more than the substantive terms of legal provisions. As such, China must develop the institutional practices that will bring to fruition the promise of the new Tort Law. In part, this will entail the proper selection, retention, and protection of judges. It will also depend on whether persons have access to the justice system, either through competent counsel or …

Judicial Independence As A Public Policy Instrument, Adam M. Dodek

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

The participation of judges in commissions of inquiry has been an important part of the public policy process in Canada and elsewhere. However, the use of judges for these and other extra-judicial functions is not wholly positive and the other side of the balance must be considered as well. This paper chronicles the dramatic rise of the use of judges by governments for such policy functions, arguing that it has resulted in a 'judicialization of politics' of a different sort from the standard conception of that term. The current political culture of independence and accountability has made judicial independence a …

Money, Politics, And Impartial Justice, Joanna Shepherd

Faculty Articles

A centuries-old controversy asks whether judicial elections are inconsistent with impartial justice. The debate is especially important because more than 90 percent of the United States’ judicial business is handled by state courts, and approximately nine in ten of all state court judges face the voters in some type of election. Using a stunning new data set of virtually all state supreme court decisions from 1995 to 1998, this paper provides empirical evidence that elected state supreme court judges routinely adjust their rulings to attract votes and campaign money. I find that judges who must be reelected by Republican voters, …

The Perils Of Foreign Contracating In China, Debra J. Reed

Debra J Reed

QUESTION PRESENTED

Whether a business contract executed between a foreign party and a Chinese party is enforceable in the courts of the People’s Republic of China?

BRIEF ANSWER

Probably not. Foreign party reliance on Chinese courts to enforce their contracts is premature because China is not yet a rule of law country. Chinese courts do not exercise judicial independence. Political domination by the Chinese Communist Party, CCP, over the courts, and Chinese local protectionism both influence the outcome of cases. Moreover, the Chinese legal system is wrought with corruption. Because inexperienced judges adopt new laws at varying speeds and apply …

Judicial Checks On Corruption, Adriana Cordis

All Dissertations

Judicial oversight is widely regarded as an important check and balance on the abuse of governmental power. The literature identifies two important components of this oversight function: judicial independence and constitutional review. However, recent work using country-level data indicates that the effectiveness of constitutional review is largely determined by the rigidity of the constitution. My dissertation builds on this work by investigating whether judicial independence and constitutional review are deterrents to a specific type of abuse of power by government officials: corruption in office. Since the appropriate way to measure corruption, which is defined as the abuse of public office …

Sealing, Judicial Transparency And Judicial Independence, T.S. Ellis Iii

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.

Global Markets And The Evolution Of Law In China And Japan, Takao Tanase

Michigan Journal of International Law

The first angle of this Article concerns the exclusivity of rights, which is the notion that a right has an exclusive boundary of ownership. The socialist system and traditional customary law in China gave only weak recognition to this concept, especially prior to China's move toward a market economy and the introduction of modern law. The second angle addresses the functionality of extralegal norms. Law reforms tend to be measured by the efficiency gains they produce, a process intensified by competition among systems. The third angle involves the ideological nature of the market-oriented development of law. The foreign enterprises and …

Judging, Politics, And Accountability: A Reply To Charles Geyh, Susan Bandes

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review [Advice And Consent: The Politics Of Judicial Appointments], Santa Clara Law Review

Santa Clara Law Review

No abstract provided.

Introduction: The Hundred-Year Run Of Roscoe Pound, Randall T. Shepard

Indiana Law Journal

Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators Annual Meeting July 29-August 2, 2006 Indianapolis, Indiana.

Judicial Independence And The Ambiguity Of Article Iii Protections, Tracey E. George

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Is the federal judiciary truly an independent body? A quick glance at the Constitution would suggest the answer is yes. The Constitution provides for life tenure and a difficult removal process for federal judges that together, as the common wisdom goes, shield federal judges from the shifting winds of the more political branches and the public at large. The author of this essay argues, however, that on a closer examination of the protections provided for by the Constitution, judicial independence might be more mirage than truism. Threats to judicial independence arise not only externally through the actions of the other …

Judicial Independence In Family Courts, Barbara A. Babb, Judith D. Moran

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Crime And The Threat To Judicial Independence, Jeannine Bell

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Current Assault On Constitutional Rights And Civil Liberties: Origins And Approaches, Nadine Strossen

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Threat To Judicial Independence By Criticism Of Judges - A Proposed Solution To The Real Problem, Monroe H. Freedman

Hofstra Law Review

This Article is in two parts. The first argues that criticism of judges by lawyers is both constitutionally protected and desirable in a democratic society. The second part suggests an appropriate judicial response in the rare case where judicial independence is truly threatened by criticism of a judge.

Introduction: The Voices And Groups That Will Preserve (What We Can Preserve Of) Judicial Independence, John Q. Barrett

Faculty Publications

As the 1996 election year commenced, the leading issues of the day included welfare reform, late-term abortions, Bosnia, immigration, drugs, taxes, the budget deficit, and the budget impasse that had shut parts of the federal government. The "hot" national issues did not include judicial philosophy, federal judicial appointments, individual judges or particular judicial decisions. Within weeks, however, that changed, thanks to a single judicial opinion. On January 22, 1996, United States District Judge Harold Baer, Jr., decided a pretrial motion to suppress evidence in the then (and now) obscure New York federal drug prosecution of a woman from Detroit named …

"Separateness But Interdependence, Autonomy But Reciprocity": A First Look At Federal Judges' Appearances Before Legislative Committees, Harvey Rishikof, Barbara A. Perry

Mercer Law Review

The Founding Fathers established judicial independence as a central tenet of the Constitution of the United States in order to insulate federal judges from the President, the Congress, and the electorate. Yet because of the complicated nature of the Constitution and overlapping powers, the judiciary has not remained totally isolated from the legislative process. Our research has discovered hundreds of instances of federal jurists testifying before congressional committees on subjects such as court administration, federal jurisdiction, budgetary policy, and pending legislation in a variety of fields. Indeed, our findings buttress a key argument of Justice Robert H. Jackson's concurring opinion …