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Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Law

Stop Me Before I Vote For This Judge Again: Judicial Conduct Organizations, Judicial Accountability, And The Disciplining Of Elected Judges, Alex B. Long Sep 2003

Stop Me Before I Vote For This Judge Again: Judicial Conduct Organizations, Judicial Accountability, And The Disciplining Of Elected Judges, Alex B. Long

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.


Who Cares About Courts? Creating A Constitutency For Judicial Independence In Africa, Mary L. Dudziak May 2003

Who Cares About Courts? Creating A Constitutency For Judicial Independence In Africa, Mary L. Dudziak

Michigan Law Review

While American scholars and judges generally assume that it is beneficial to insulate courts from politics, Jennifer Widner offers a contrasting perspective from another region of the world. In Building the Rule of Law: Francis Nyalali and the Road to Judicial Independence in Africa, Widner examines the role of courts and judicial review in democratization in Africa. She focuses on the role of one judge, a man who would see himself as embodying a role in Tanzania similar to that of Chief Justice John Marshall in the United States. Francis Nyalali, Chief Justice of the High Court of Tanzania, worked …


Rethinking Judicial Elections, Charles G. Geyh Apr 2003

Rethinking Judicial Elections, Charles G. Geyh

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.


Judicial Independence And The Ambiguity Of Article Iii Protections, Tracey E. George Jan 2003

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 …


The Politics Of Crime And The Threat To Judicial Independence, Jeannine Bell Jan 2003

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

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.


Why Judicial Elections Stink, Charles G. Geyh Jan 2003

Why Judicial Elections Stink, Charles G. Geyh

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Those who are concerned about judicial independence and accountability in the United States quite rightly focus their attention on state judicial election campaigns. It is there that the most sustained and successful efforts to threaten judicial tenure in response to isolated, unpopular judicial decisions have occurred; and it is there that escalating campaign spending has created a public perception that judges are influenced by the contributions they receive. Attempts to address these problems have been undermined by four political realities that the author refers to as "the Axiom of 80 ": Eighty percent of the public favors electing their judges; …


Recalibrating Federal Judicial Independence Symposium: Perspectives On Judicial Independence: Accountability And Separation Of Power Issues, James J. Brudney Jan 2003

Recalibrating Federal Judicial Independence Symposium: Perspectives On Judicial Independence: Accountability And Separation Of Power Issues, James J. Brudney

Faculty Scholarship

It is well settled that independent courts play a vital role in promoting rule-of-law and separation-of-powers norms. At the same time, judicial independence must be reconciled with other values that we also wish to recognize as foundational. Professor Brudney addresses two areas of controversy that are associated with the celebration of judicial autonomy in our legal culture. He first discusses the role of political and personal background factors in shaping judicial selection and influencing judicial outcomes. He explains why both the President and Congress have come to rely increasingly on such background factors when seeking to anticipate the broad contours …