Category Archives: Judicial Ethics

Thoughts on the Medical Consent Process and Implications for the Relationship Between Courts, Legal Advocates and Clients

Posted on January 23, 2016 by richardzorza

Yesterday, I had a bone marrow biopsy, as part of my ongoing medical care dealing with bone marrow cancer.  That biopsy is not my favorite thing, but let me tell you, as often at Hopkins, you are reminded just what … Continue reading →

Posted in Attorney-Client, Criminal Law, Defender Programs, Judicial Ethics, Legal Ethics, Medical System Comparision, Personal, Public Defender, Transparency | 2 Comments

Important Case on Failure to Recognize Existence of Discretion to Provide Information to Self-Represented Litigant

Posted on December 16, 2015 by richardzorza

The California Court of Appeals has just entered a procedurally complex, but very important case on how a judge should deal with an uninformed self-represented litigant. The bottom line is that an incarcerated self-represented landlord repeatedly tried to win a … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Self-Help Services | 2 Comments

A Review of Possible Elements of Deregulation of Law, Gleaned From Current Conversations

Posted on December 9, 2015 by richardzorza

As the legal profession discusses the possibility of deregulation, it might be useful to think about the regulatory areas that are most frequently cited as barriers to increasing accesses.  Such a listing may help us decide if the kinds of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bar Associations, Judicial Ethics, Rules Reform, Systematic Change, Technology | 2 Comments

What Do We Do With the Apparant Fact That People Who Beleive They Are More Creative Are More LIkely to Believe That They Are Entitled, and To Act Unethically?

Posted on November 26, 2015 by richardzorza

Richard Moohead wonderfully picks up on recent research on the relationship between creativity and entitlement. The research, reported in the Harvard Business Review, tested whether people who beleived that they were more creative were, for example, willing to lie for … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Legal Ethics, Research and Evalation | 1 Comment

What Do Courts Mean to Say When They Cite the Proposition That The Same Rules Apply to the Self-Represented and the Represented

Posted on October 24, 2015 by richardzorza

All to often, appellate courts cite something for the proposition that self-represented litigants are held to the same rules as those with lawyers.  The problem with this obvious statement (which is even in its own terms untrue when the rules … Continue reading →

Posted in Appellate Practice, Judicial Ethics, Supreme Court | 3 Comments

Towards a Definition of “One Hundred Percent Access to Civil Justice”

Posted on September 3, 2015 by richardzorza

With the setting by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ), and the Conference of State Court Administrators  (COSCA) by Resolution of 100% access to justice as an “aspirational goal,” the question of just what that term means becomes more and … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Administative Proecdure, Bar Associations, Court Management, Judicial Ethics, Legal Aid, Planning, Research and Evalation, Systematic Change, Triage | 8 Comments

Legislative Funding Best Practices For Legal Aid Endorsed by CCJ and COSCA Apply to Broad Definition of Legal Aid

Posted on August 14, 2015 by richardzorza

As I recently blogged, the Conference of Chiefs and the Conference of State Court Administrators passed three important and inter-related Resolutions recently.  The first was about 100% access to justice, and the second about Best Practices for Supreme Court support … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Funding, Judicial Ethics, Legal Aid | 1 Comment

Noting the Range and Significance of NSF Research Grants into Access to Justice

Posted on June 13, 2015 by richardzorza

Regular readers of this blog will not have been able to avoid the drumbeat of attention to the importance and potential of DOJ’s bringing NSF to the access to justice table.  But, I have not as yet explicitly listed or … Continue reading →

Posted in Dept. of Justice, Judicial Ethics, Plain Language, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services, Triage, Usabilty | Comments Off on Noting the Range and Significance of NSF Research Grants into Access to Justice

Guest Post From Sherna Deamer on Making Justice Truly Blind — Where it Should Be

Posted on March 30, 2015 by richardzorza

This blog loves to share provocative “out of the box” ideas that can get conversation going.  Here is one on how to remove some of the unconscious cultural and ethnic bias in our legal system.  It comes from Sherna Deamer, … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Management, Judicial Ethics, LEP, Research and Evalation | 2 Comments

Why the New Judicial Ethics Rules on SRLs are Unlikely to Increase Complaints About Judges

Posted on March 9, 2015 by richardzorza

I have recently been involved in a discussion about whether rules authorizing judges to be more engaged with litigants in self-represented cases might increase complaints about judges, specifically for their failure to be more engaged. These rules (or raher usually … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics | Comments Off on Why the New Judicial Ethics Rules on SRLs are Unlikely to Increase Complaints About Judges

A Fascinating Opinion by Judge Jack Weinstein (EDNY) Raises New Questions and Opportunities About the Relationship between Civil Gideon and Judicial Engagement

Posted on January 31, 2015 by richardzorza

Senior Judge Jack Weinstein of the Eastern District of NY recently recused himself sua sponte after engaging in a colloquy with a self-represented litigant about evidnce relating to the possibility that his claim in an employment discrimination complaint was time-bared. … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Generally, Judicial Ethics, Triage | Comments Off on A Fascinating Opinion by Judge Jack Weinstein (EDNY) Raises New Questions and Opportunities About the Relationship between Civil Gideon and Judicial Engagement

A Fascinating Access to Justice Day in Pre-Op for Cataract Surgery

Posted on December 15, 2014 by richardzorza

Recently, I went through the pre-operative procedure for very minor surgery (cataract removal) at Johns Hopkins.  Two fascinating things happened. First,, the person told me to expect on the day of the procedure that the nurse would ask me just … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Management, Judicial Ethics, Medical System Comparision | 2 Comments

Michigan Judge Inadvertantly Underlines Need for Changes in Language Access

Posted on November 21, 2014 by richardzorza

In a week during which we have been given another opportunity to reflect upon the benefits of integrating people from all backgrounds into our richly varied country, we are — albeit unintentionally — reminded by a Michigan Judge of how … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, LEP | Comments Off on Michigan Judge Inadvertantly Underlines Need for Changes in Language Access

Evaluation of Idaho Informal Custody Trial Raises Interesting Questions

Posted on November 7, 2014 by richardzorza

For several years, Idaho has been experimenting with an “Informal Custody Trial” (ICT).  They have recently released the evaluation, and we have permission to post it on this blog here, Informal Custody Trial Evaluation Report. Big kudos to the state … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Management, Judicial Ethics, Research and Evalation, Systematic Change | Comments Off on Evaluation of Idaho Informal Custody Trial Raises Interesting Questions

NY Comission on Judicial Conduct Criticizes Judge For Failing to Recognize Need for Interpreter

Posted on October 22, 2014 by richardzorza

It has been my experiencce that judges are far more anxious about the risk of adverse action from a judicial conduct than of an appellate reversal, no matter how harshly worded. So it may be particularly significant that the New … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, LEP | 1 Comment