Links

Links to web pages listed below do not necessarily indicate support or advocacy by the American Judicature Society or the Center for Judicial Independence of the information,  policies, or viewpoints contained therein.

• Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (www.uscourts.gov)
  The Federal Judiciary homepage contains information on federal judges and courts as well as a federal judicial vacancy list.

• Alaska Judicial Council (www.ajc.state.ak.us)
  The Alaska Judicial Council is an independent state agency established by the Alaska Constitution in the judicial branch of state government.  The Judicial Council has constitutional and statutory duties in three areas:  judicial selection, judicial evaluation/retention, and research into the administration of justice.

• Alliance for Justice (www.afj.org)
  Alliance for Justice is a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's children's and consumer advocacy organizations.  Since its inception in 1979, the Alliance has worked to advance the cause of justice for all Americans, strengthen the public interest community's ability to influence public policy, and foster the next generation of advocates.
  
  2001-2002 Biennial Report

• American Bar Association Standing Committee on Judicial Independence (www.abanet.org/judind/home.html)
  The ABA's Standing Committee on Judicial Independence was created to promote public awareness about the values of an independent, accountable and efficient judiciary and to assist in responding to unwarranted criticism. The Standing Committee has a particular focus on state and local judiciaries.

• American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org)
  

  Two Nations, One Justice:  The Independent Judiciary in South Africa and the United States (http://archive.aclu.org/library/vision14.html)
  

  ACLU Special Report, June 1996:  Court Stripping:  Congress'  Campaign to Undermine the Power of the Judiciary (http://archive.aclu.org/library/ctstrip.html)

• Association of Trial Lawyers of America (www.atla.org)
  

  Trial Magazine Index and Archives

  • Report of the 1998 Forum for State Court Judges:  Some Background on the Current Controversy Surrounding Judicial Independence

  • Preserving Judicial Independence, by  ATLA President Mark S. Mandell (from Trial Magazine, January 1999)
    

  • Reflections on Judicial Independence, by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (from Trial Magazine, May 1999)
    

  • ATLA Responds to Threats to the Judiciary, by Robert Peck (from Trial Magazine, May 1999)
    

• Brennan Center (www.brennancenter.org)
  The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law focuses on protecting judges from politically motivated attacks on their rulings, safeguarding the judicial selection process, and fighting improper efforts to constrict judicial jurisdiction and power.  The site includes summaries of national newspaper and periodical clippings related to judicial independence.

• Citizens for Independent Courts (www.constitutionproject.org)
  Citizens for Independent Courts, an initiative of the Constitution Project, is part of a broad-based, nonpartisan group of individuals and organizations who believe that access to impartial, independent courts that are free from political influence forms the bedrock of our constitutional guarantee of individual liberty. 

• Federal Judicial Center (www.fjc.gov)
  The Federal Judicial Center is the research and education agency of the federal judicial system.  The Center conducts and promotes orientation and continuing education and training for federal judges, court employees and others; develops recommendations about the operation and study of the federal courts; and conducts and promotes research on federal judicial procedures, court operations, and history. 

• The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton (www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed.htm)
  From the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School.

• Fostering Judicial Independence in State and Federal Courts (www.ncsc.dni.us/is/memos/s98-0281.htm)
  Memorandum by Colleen Danos of the National Center for State Courts on the status of judicial independence in the state courts and suggestions on increasing judicial independence.

• Frontline:  Justice For Sale (www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/justice)
  This site contains information on the PBS Frontline program Justice for Sale which examined campaign finance in judicial elections.  The site includes a transcript of the interview with U.S. Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy, information on judicial selection methods in each state, and a discussion of selection reform efforts.

• The Fund for Modern Courts (www.moderncourts.org)
  The Fund for Modern Courts is a nonpartisan, nonprofit statewide court reform organization founded in 1955 and strives to improve the administration and quality of justice in New York courts.

• Illinois State Bar Association (www.isba.org)
  

• An Independent Judiciary:  Report of the ABA Commission on Separation of Powers and Judicial Independence (www.abanet.org/govaffairs/judiciary/rappa.html)
  The ABA Commission on Separation of Powers and Judicial Independence was established in August 1996 to study judicial independence and accountability and to make recommendations.  The Commission's focus was limited to the federal judiciary appointed pursuant to Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

• International Commission of Jurists -- Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (www.icj.org)
  The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to the promotion of the understanding and observance of the rule of law as well as the promotion and legal protection of human rights throughout the world.  The Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (CIJL) was created in 1978 to promote and protect the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession and monitor and endeavour to protect the human rights of persons working in legal professions.

• Judicial Independence and Accountability Symposium (www.usc.edu/dept/law/symposia/judicial)
  This site contains program materials from USC School of Law's November 1998 symposium on judicial independence.

• Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (www.lawyerscomm.org)
  The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization formed in 1963 to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination.  The principal mission of the Lawyers' Committee is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice under law.

  Lawyers' Committee Commends Senate for Voting on Court of Appeals Nominees Berson and Paez (March 10, 2000) (www.lawyerscomm.org/publicpolicy/judindberzonpaez.html)
  

  Examples of Political Threats to Judicial Independence (www.lawyerscomm.org/publicpolicy/threatstojudind.html)
  

• League of Women Voters (www.lwv.org)
  League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

  Campaign Finance Reform (www.lwv.org/where/promoting/cfr.html

• Marbury v. Madison (www.lectlaw.com//files/case14.htm)
  From the 'Lectric Law Library.

• Missouri Bar judicial independence video (www.mobar.net)
  The Missouri Bar now offers a judicial independence video, a project on which AJS consulted. In its newsletter, The Missouri Bar Bulletin, the bar promoted the video as an educational tool for bar members and national organizations designed to be used by lawyers speaking to community groups and social organizations. The video was produced in conjunction with the new Pillar of Justice Speakers Bureau, a model speakers bureau that the Missouri Bar hopes other state bars will imitate.  To purchase the video, contact the Missouri Bar online at www.mobar.net or call Jack Wax, Media Relations Director, 573.635.4128.
  
  

• National Center for State Courts (www.ncsconline.org)
  The National Center for State Courts is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to the improvement of justice and, among its activities and services, develops policies to enhance state courts, advances state courts' interests within the federal government, and secures sufficient resources for state courts.

• National Institute on Money in State Politics (www.followthemoney.org)
  The National Institute on Money in State Politics is a nonpartisan, nonprofit program dedicated to accurate, comprehensive and unbiased documentation and research on campaign finance at the state level.

• Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts (www.pmconline.org)
  Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts is a statewide, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes the reform of Pennsylvania's judicial system.

• People for the American Way (www.pfaw.org)
  PFAW organizes and mobilizes Americans to fight for fairness, justice, civil rights and the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.  PFAW lobbies for progressive legislation and helps to build communities of activists.

  Federal Courts at Risk (www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=1648)
  

• Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana (www.la-par.org)
  The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana is an independent voice, offering solutions to critical issues in Louisiana through accurate, objective research and focusing public attention on those solutions.  PAR also serves as a government watchdog and catalyst for governmental reform.

• Southern Center for Human Rights (www.schr.org)
  The Southern Center for Human Rights is a nonprofit, public interest legal project, founded in 1976, to enforce the constitutional protection against 'cruel and unusual punishment' by challenging excessive and degrading forms of punishment and cruel and inhuman conditions of confinement.

  Judges and the Politics of Death:  Deciding between the Bill of Rights and the Next Election in Capital Cases by Stephen B. Bright & Patrick J. Keenan (May 1995) (PDF Version) (www.schr.org/reports/docs/judges3.pdf)
  

  Can Judicial Independence be Attained in the South?  Overcoming History, Elections, and Misperceptions About the Role of the Judiciary by Stephen B. Bright (July 1998) (PDF Version) (www.schr.org/reports/docs/judges_qsu.pdf)
  

• The Statutory Term Analysis (STA) Method (www.dcl.edu/lawrev/98-4/tassinari.htm)
  The Statutory Term Analysis (STA) Method is a law review article that draws a distinction between a judge's role as a trier of fact and a judge's role as a trier of law.  From this distinction a framework is developed around judicial independence and judicial activism that allows others to rationally discuss their views in this politically charged area.  Statutory interpretation rules are set out and proposed to be enacted into the Federal Rules of Evidence.  The article was written by Vincent P. Tassinari, Adjunct Professor of Law, University of West Los Angeles School of Law.  Professor Tassinari may be reached at Vince_Tassinari@BSTZ.com.

• Texans for Public Justice (www.tpj.org)
  Texans for Public Justice is a nonpartisan, nonprofit policy and research organization which tracks the influence of money in politics.

• United States Constitution (www.usconstitution.net)
  Aside from the searchable text of the U.S. Constitution, this site also contains lists of members of Congress, a list of current events involving the Constitution, and general information on all fifty states.