Category Archives: Judicial Ethics

Jim Greiner Asks For Help with SRL Courtroom Scripts

Posted on January 12, 2013 by

Harvard’s Jim Greiner, randomized study guru, asks for help identifying model self-represented litigant courtroom scripts. Specifically, he is working on a project in which litigants would be given written scripts that they could use orally in court to help them … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services | 4 Comments

American Judges Association Adopts White Paper on Implications of Science for Judging

Posted on October 9, 2012 by

This White Paper, MINDING THE COURT, should be read by all judges and those who appear in front of, or talk to (professionally or personally), judges. It focuses on the lessons of recent neuroscience and their implications for fair and … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Science | Leave a comment

West Wing Revisited — Cast Shoots Ad in Support of Voting on Non-Partisan Judicial Elections — and One Particular Michigan Supreme Court Candidate

Posted on September 20, 2012 by

This is pretty newsworthy, regardless of who you might support in a judicial election. The West Wing cast reunites to shoot an ad (here — just shown on the MS-NBC program “The Last Word)” in support of the idea that … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics | Leave a comment

A Step Forward: New York Times Endorses Judicial Candidate Based on Experience with the Self-Represented

Posted on August 25, 2012 by

Its nice to see, and good news for the self-represented, regardless of the merits (on which this blog is not here commenting).  The Gray Lady endorsing a judicial candidate based on experience dealing with the self-represented. CIVIL COURT, THE BRONX, … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Self-Help Services | 1 Comment

Major News from CCJ/COSCA on Model Code of Judicial Conduct and the Self-Represented

Posted on August 2, 2012 by

In a move that has the potential for major impact on self-represented litigants in the courtroom nationally, the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators have passed a Resolution recommending that states consider passing versions of … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Teaching Doctors Empahty — Some Lessons and Questions for the Legal System

Posted on June 23, 2012 by

The Economix blog in the New York Times has a great post on new research that shows that doctors can be taught empathy. In the experiment: Dr. Helen Riess, director of the Empathy and Relational Science Program in the department … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Medical System Comparision, Research and Evalation, Science | Leave a comment

Court Watching Pays Real Dividends

Posted on June 5, 2012 by

Eight months ago, I blogged about a promising domestic violence court watching project in Montgomery County MD. Turns out the project has been a great success: “We’re very excited. Clearly there have been dramatic changes, and we are pleased with … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Violence, Judicial Ethics | Tagged | Leave a comment

On Preventing Unconscious Judicial Bias — a Model Personal Approach

Posted on June 5, 2012 by

Thoughtful judges recognize the inherent risk of unconscious bias, and the difficulty of preventing it. A wonderful article based on an interview with Federal District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina lays out his approach to sentencing, and perhaps even more important, … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Department of Justice and Office of Child Support (HHS) Anounce Webcast Forum on Turner v. Rogers on June 20

Posted on May 24, 2012 by

I am proud that I will be part of a live and streamed Forum on Turner, on its first anniversary. Here is the announcement: Turner v. Rogers Anniversary Forum:  Fundamental Fairness and the Ability to Pay in Child Support Proceedings … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Dept. of Justice, Judicial Ethics, Self-Help Services | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Setting Public Goals for Access Commissions: The Massachusetts Model

Posted on May 7, 2012 by

Kudos to the Massachusetts ATJ Commission for publicly setting itself objectives that are both concrete and ambitious — and for assigning groups and individuals to be responsible for moving them forward.  I am particularly impressed that goals for working with … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Funding, Judicial Ethics, Legal Aid, Legal Ethics, Self-Help Services, Technology, Transparency | Leave a comment

Montana Supreme Court Takes Lead on SRL Discovery Issues

Posted on April 29, 2012 by

The pitfalls of discovery procedure are one of the barriers to access for the self-represented.  So it is particularly good to see the Montana Supreme Court taking a commonsense approach to the technicalities. In Arlington v. Miller’s Trucking, the Court … Continue reading →

Posted in Administative Proecdure, Judicial Ethics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mediation and the Self-Represented — Towards a New Paradigm

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

The mediation world seems to be starting seriously to engage the issue of self-represented litigants. Indeed, last week at the ABA Conference of the Section on Dispute Resolution, I was on a panel on the subject with Heather Scheiwe Kulp, … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Mediation, Supreme Court | 5 Comments

Progress on Improving Judicial Evaluation Surveys

Posted on April 17, 2012 by

I recently posted about some disturbing research strongly suggesting that the results of judicial evaluation surveys reflect cultural biases against women and minorities. I am glad to be able to report that there is some important work going on to … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Nevada Study Suggests that Evaluation of Judges Still Subject to Bias

Posted on April 12, 2012 by

This is sad, disappointing, and perhaps predictable. A careful study of attorney evaluation of judges in Nevada finds statistically significant indications that attorney evaluators are reflecting social bias.  Here is the abstract: Judicial performance evaluations (JPEs) are an important part … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Research and Evalation | Tagged | 3 Comments

Some Procedural Fairness Lessons for Assessing the Supreme Courts Oral Arguments in the Affordable Care Act Cases

Posted on March 27, 2012 by

Justice Steven Leben (Kansas Court of Appeals) and Judge Kevin Burke (Minnesota trial Court) have a fascinating article in the MinnPost about how the lessons of procedural fairness can help guide how the Supreme Court judges conduct oral arguments on … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Supreme Court | Leave a comment