Protecting the Courts. Unfair attacks on judges are attacks on the rule of law

• Author: Judy Perry Martinez
• Pages: 6-6

ABA JOURNAL | WINTER 2019-2020

6

ABAJournal-PresidentLetter | September 23, 2019 3:23 PM

Protecting

the Courts

Unfair attacks on judges

undermine judicial independence,

the rule of law

BY JUDY PERRY MARTINEZ

credentials. The judge received more

than 42,000 calls, letters and emails,

including 1,100 that federal marshals

determined were meaningful threats.

Nobody, especially dedicated public

servants, should live in fear for up-

holding our Constitution and laws.

Everyone has the right to disagree with

a court’s decision. But those who openly

mock a judge’s legitimacy or threaten

retaliation due to an unfavorable ruling

not only contribute to public mistrust

of the judiciary; they undermine the

very foundation of our democracy.

Bar associations have a special

responsibility to ensure that the public

understands the judiciary’s role and

holds the judiciary accountable to the

highest standards of fairness and im-

partiality. To help mobilize lawyers, the

ABA recently updated its manual Rapid

Response to Unfair and Unjust Crit-

icism of Judges. The manual includes

a section on the extraordinary rise in

social media use and dissemination of

news through online channels, which

has increased the rapid spread of unjust

criticism and misleading statements.

Each of us as lawyers needs to lead

in combating this challenge to what

makes our democracy work. Each of

us has a role to play in protecting and

promoting the independence of the

judiciary. We cannot leave the job to

anyone else.

To promote an independent, fair,

competent and ethical judiciary, we

also must focus on how judges are

chosen. For more than 60 years, the

ABA has performed the unique public

service of thoroughly evaluating federal

judicial nominees solely based on their

professional qualications—a service

with a bipartisan reputation as a “gold

standard.”

When fueled by party politics,

popularity, and signicant campaign

fundraising and spending, contested

judicial elections and retention elections

for state and municipal court judges can

undermine the public’s faith in impar-

tial justice. As noted in the ABA’s State

Judicial Selection Standards, the evalua-

tion of judicial candidates by a neutral,

nonpartisan, credible and deliberative

body can instill condence in judiciaries

whether they are elected or appointed.

The independence of other judges

equally deserves our support. For exam-

ple, the ABA has long advocated for the

creation of an independent immigration

court system outside the control of the

Department of Justice. Such a system

would protect and advance America’s

core values of fairness and equality

while ensuring the timely adjudication

of cases.

Other countries look to the ABA for

guidance in fostering fair and impar-

tial courts. Through the ABA Rule of

Law Initiative and the ABA Center for

Human Rights, we have monitored and

shined a light on attacks on the inde-

pendence of courts around the world.

American lawyers who care about the

value of judicial independence in our

country must

stand up to

attacks on the

judiciary both

at home and in

other countries.

Former U.S.

Supreme Court

Justice Sandra

Day O’Connor

has been a lead-

ing champion for

fair and impartial

courts. “Judicial

independence does not just happen all

by itself,” she observed. “It is tremen-

dously hard to create, and easier than

most people imagine to destroy.”

No democracy can survive with-

out an independent judiciary. And an

independent judiciary relies on indi-

vidual lawyers and bar associations to

help protect judges and safeguard their

ability to provide justice for all. Please

do your part. Our democracy depends

on you. n

President’s Letter Follow President Martinez on

Twitter @ABAPresident or email

abapresident@americanbar.org.

Photo © Zach Smith

As lawyers, we can never say

it enough: An independent

judiciary is an essential ele-

ment of American govern-

ment and democratic systems around

the world. The judicial branch is and

must always be a coequal branch with

the executive and legislative branches.

Judicial decision-making must never

be inuenced, or even appear to be

swayed, by external political pressures

or popular opinion.

Simply for carrying out their duty

to follow the Constitution and the law,

judges are vulnerable to unfounded

and extraordinary attacks. The person-

al information of one federal judge’s

family was shared online after his ruling

in a high-prole case led to personal

criticism that mocked his professional

Each of us has

a role to play in

protecting and

promoting the

independence

of the judiciary.

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