Embassy of the United States

Law & Justice

Judicial & Penal Systems Archive

RECRUITMENT OF RULE OF LAW SPECIALISTS FOR THE CIVILIAN RESPONSE CORPS. United States Institute of Peace. Scott Carlson and Michael Dziedzic. January 2009.
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The report summarizes the findings of two dialogues held at the United States Institute of Peace to develop guiding principles for the recruitment of police, judges, prosecutors, court personnel, corrections officials and other rule of law specialists for the Civilian Response Corps (CRC). Civilian specialists, with skills essential for stabilization and reconstruction activities, could provide policymakers with a foreign policy instrument that is just as vital to waging peace as a professional armed force is for waging war.

AA08342 Murray, Peter L. THE PRIVATIZATION OF CIVIL JUSTICE (Judicature, vol. 91, no. 6, May-June 2008, pp. 272-275, 315-316) Available on request
Murray, professor of law at Harvard University, describes the evolution of the civil justice industry with arbitrators and mediators -- private practitioners rather than public officers deciding cases. As a result of too many court cases, Congress has encouraged arbitration and mediation; Murray believes that the mediators and arbitrators now require more oversight. Only 1-2 percent of civil cases are heard by judges, and arbitrators/mediators may be influenced by repeat customers. He describes one arbitrator who decided 19 times for a credit card company; after deciding against the credit card company, he stopped getting cases. Along with other improvements, Murray suggests that Congress amend the Federal Arbitration Act to protect consumers and non-repeat players, allow judicial review of mediation and arbitration decisions, and provide mediation within the civil justice system using the court's judges as mediators.

AA08274
Abramsky, Sasha WHEN PRISON GUARDS GO SOFT (Mother Jones, July/August 2008)
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Mike Jimenez, head of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the nation’s largest prison guards’ union, says that five years ago, his group was riding high as one of the most powerful labor unions in California. The CCPOA had a tough-on-crime stance, supporting like-minded politicians and backing strong legislation, and derailing campaigns of political candidates that crossed them. However, the CCPOA is at a crossroads; it is recommending stances that it once would have derided as dangerously liberal, such as rolling back some mandatory minimum sentencing, restoring judges' discretion over sentencing, and giving corrections officers more input in setting parole dates. It also advocated spending more on sick and mentally ill inmates, as well as reentry programs for parolees. Jimenez, a stalwart Republican, acknowledges that much of his change of mind came about because of events in his family -– his 19-year-old son was involved in drugs and ran afoul of the law. He says that the experience was “assembly-line justice ... Nobody's willing to forgive anymore. And we are willing to lock people up for unreasonable periods of time.”
[This article is part of a series, SLAMMED, on the U.S. prison system]

Jennifer Gonnerman: Slammed: we are locking up 1 in every 100 American adults--and going bankrupt in the process. (Mother Jones: 33.4 July-August 2008: p44(4).)
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Nearly one in four of all prisoners worldwide are incarcerated in America. The more money a state spends on building and running prisons, the less there is for everything else, from roads and bridges to health care and public schools. At the pace our inmate population has been expanding, America's prison system is becoming, quite simply, too expensive to sustain. Series of related topics are discussed in the article

REMOVING ALIENS FROM THE UNITED STATES: JUDICIAL REVIEW OF REMOVAL ORDERS.
Congressional Research Service, RL34444, Library of Congress. Yule Kim. Web posted May 9, 2008.
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Aliens may be removed from the United States for a variety of reasons, such as entering into the country unlawfully, overstaying a visa, or committing a crime. However, aliens usually have access to a removal hearing or adjudication that determines whether an alien is subject to removal. Although judicial review by a federal court of appeals of a removal order is generally available, Congress has denied the federal courts jurisdiction to review many types of removals. Congress specifically preserved the jurisdiction of the courts of appeals to review constitutional claims and questions of law for all removals, even those arising from an area where judicial review is generally barred. The report shifts through the jurisdictional thicket created by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by focusing on the procedural mechanisms used to initiate judicial review.

TRIAL LAWYERS INC. ASBESTOS: A REPORT ON THE ASBESTOS LITIGATION INDUSTRY, 2008.
Manhattan Institute. Web posted May 18, 2008.
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Asbestos, a flame retardant, ended up causing the death of thousands of individuals. The litigation that originally sought redress for the truly injured metastasized into a big business that in too many cases recruited sham victims to increase plaintiffs’ attorneys’ bottom line. The attorneys bully defendants into settlements that enrich “Trial Lawyers, Inc.” The overall cost of asbestos litigation is staggering, totaling over $70 billion in direct losses and bankrupting 80 companies. Of that $70 billion, fully $40 billion has gone to lawyers. Asbestos litigation today is costly, inefficient, and unfair to defendants and legitimate plaintiffs alike.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

AA08162
Field, Kelly LAW STUDENTS TEACH COURTROOM SKILLS, AMERICAN STYLE: A CALIFORNIA LAW SCHOOL ENGAGES IN PROJECTS BOTH SILLY AND SERIOUS TO AID LEGAL REFORM IN CHILE (Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 54, No. 31, April 11, 2008, pp. A27-29)
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In 1997, the U.S. Information Agency (now part of the State Department) invited California Western School of Law professor Janeen Kerper to Chile to help Chilean lawyers develop their trial skills. In partnership with Catholic University of Chile, Kerper got grants from Chile’s Ministry of Education and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and created Proyecto Acceso, which 11 years later is not only going strong but has expanded to eight other countries in Latin America. Acceso has trained nearly every public defender in Chile, which is switching to an adversarial, transparent system of justice, as well as a number of the country’s prosecutors and judges, according to Field. Acceso has also worked in collaboration with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (the German equivalent of AID) to educate ordinary Chileans about their legal rights, using such popular means as puppet shows, cartoons and coloring books. In 2004, Acceso began partnering with the [German] University of Heidelberg’s Center for Latin America to offer postgraduate programs for Chilean lawyers. Six California Western law students recently spent a semester in Chile studying the country’s judicial system, shadowing attorneys and sitting in on trials. At the end of the semester, the students became teachers, providing their Chilean mentors with feedback. “We’re putting the U.S.’s best foot forward,” says James M. Cooper, the California Western professor who now directs Proyecto Acceso. But financing remains a constant challenge. A second article by Field focuses on Proyecto Accesso’s legal reform work with the Mapuche community in southern Chile.

AA08131
Hans, Valerie; Vidmar, Neil THE VERDICT ON JURIES (Judicature, vol. 91, no. 5, March-April 2008, pp. 226-230)
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After surveying nearly 50 years of research studies, Hans and Vidmar, law professors at Cornell and Duke universities respectively, conclude that judges agree with jury verdicts in most cases. Juries carefully weigh evidence and deliberate in substantive discussions about the finer points of the cases. Juries are more diverse, minorities are represented more fully on juries than within the judiciary. Judges who run for re-election might also be predisposed to look favorably at litigants who were campaign contributors. The authors recommend clearer written jury instructions, allowing jurors to ask witnesses questions and other changes to trials. Citizen participation in legal decision-making has positive carry over effects. After serving on a jury, jurors are more likely to vote than the rest of the population. Former Soviet republics and other countries are introducing or reintroducing the jury into their legal systems.

RADICALIZATION OR REHABILITATION: UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGE OF EXTREMIST AND RADICALIZED PRISONERS.
Rand Europe. Greg Hannah, et. al. Web posted April 9, 2008.
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This study is the result of internally funded RAND Corporation research. It seeks to provide a preliminary overview of the challenges posed by radicalized and extremist prisoners, and to explore the potential for the radicalization of young European Muslims in the prison environment. The study draws on the body of existing prison theory literature, historical case examples and contemporary open sources. It draws a number of conclusions about the potential in prison for extremist activity, including radicalization, and highlights a number of areas where further research and action may be desirable.

[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: CONSTITUTIONALITY FOR NON-HOMICIDE CRIMES SUCH AS CHILD RAPE.
Congressional Research Service, RS22844, Library of Congress. Alison M. Smith. March 21, 2008.
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The United States has not executed any individual for committing a non-homicide crime since the United States reinstated the death penalty in 1976. This may change as several federal and state statutes authorize capital punishment for certain non-homicide offenses such as treason, espionage, aircraft piracy, aggravated kidnapping, and child rape. The constitutionality of these statutes has been called into. During the present term, the Supreme Court may determine whether states may constitutionally impose the death penalty for any crime other than murder.

ONE IN 100: BEHIND BARS IN AMERICA 2008.
[Pew Center on the States, Public Safety Performance Project]. Jennifer Warren, et. al. February 28, 2008.
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Three decades of growth in America’s prison population has quietly nudged the nation across a sobering threshold: for the first time, more than one in every 100 adults is now confined in an American jail or prison. According to figures gathered and analyzed by the Pew Public Safety Performance Project, the number of people behind bars in the United States continued to climb in 2007, saddling cash-strapped states with soaring costs they can ill afford and failing to have a clear impact either on recidivism or overall crime.

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AA07149
Rosen, Jeffrey. ROBERT’S RULES (Atlantic Monthly, vol. 299, no. 1, January/February 2007, pp. 104-113)
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In a lengthy interview, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts offers his views on what makes a successful chief justice. Roberts believes that the “temperament of a chief justice can be as important as judicial philosophy in determining success or failure.” His ideal is John Marshall, chief justice from 1801-1835, who “gave everyone the benefit of the doubt; he approached everyone as a friend ... it was just in his nature to get along with people ... I think that had to play an important role in his ability to bring the Court together, to change the whole way decisions were arrived at, to really create the notion that we are a Court -– not simply an assemblage of individual justices.” Roberts believes that “a chief justice’s authority is really quite limited ... and the dynamic among all the justices is going to affect whether he can accomplish much or not.” Chief justices assign cases to the different associate justices, and Roberts intends to use this power to strive for consensus as much as possible. “It’s not my greatest power; it’s my only power. Say someone is committed to broad consensus, and somebody else is just dead set on ‘My way or the highway.’ Well, you assign that [case] to the consensus-minded person, and it gives you a much better chance, out of the box, of getting some kind of consensus.”

AA07049
Vaida, Bara. JUDGING POLITICS (National Journal, Vol. 39, No. 5, Feb. 3, 2007, pp. 36-41)
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Americans are losing faith in the impartiality of judges, something legal scholars and lawyers blame on corporate lobbying and conservative activists. More money is being pumped into state judicial races, with at least $40 million spent on state Supreme Court races in 2006. The increase in spending has lead to politicized campaigning, including TV attack ads. Also, in 2002 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that judges have the right to announce their political views, something that business groups and think tanks have jumped on, pushing judges to publicly declare their views on politicized issues like abortion and gay marriage. The conservative group Focus on Family even sent out questionnaires to judges, asking about political views and judicial philosophy. This shift has caused backlash from voters and in 2006 four states voted on initiatives to limit the power of the judiciary. The American Bar Association is trying to fight the backlash, advocating for the public financing of judicial races and developing universal standards to evaluate judges.

THE DEATH PENALTY IN 2006: YEAR END REPORT.
Richard C. Dieter. Death Penalty Information Center. December 2006.
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The death penalty in the U.S. continues to recede in prominence as the annual number of death sentences has dropped to an historic low. The number of executions is the lowest in a decade and more people support a sentence of life without parole over the death penalty. Concerns about the innocence and basic due process of the inmates have made the death penalty problematic; thus the trend over the past five years has been to reduce the number of capital punishment sentences. However, the number of states allowing the death penalty remains high.

AA07003 Horowitz, Donald L. CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS: A PRIMER FOR DECISION MAKERS
(Journal of Democracy, vol. 17, no. 4, October 2006, pp. 125-137)
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When newly emerging democracies are drafting constitutions, drafters are adding judicial review of government action as a necessary limitation on the power of the executive branch. Some countries allow the Supreme Court to declare legislation or executive actions as unconstitutional, while other countries have created constitutional courts to hear these cases. Horowitz's article describes the strengths and pitfalls of each approach. He contends that careful constitution drafting is necessary to limit the powers of the executive by allowing the judicial branch the opportunity of judicial review.

AA06224
Lowe, Peter COUNTERFEITING: LINKS TO ORGANISED CRIME AND TERRORIST FUNDING (Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 13, no. 2, 2006, pp. 255-257)
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Lowe, of the International Chamber of Commerce's Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau, says terrorist groups have multiple sources of funding, both licit and illicit. He expects that terrorist groups and their sympathizers will become even more involved in counterfeiting and piracy in the future. Terrorists groups have, for example, produced fake drugs, smuggled drugs, pirated high-volume products such as cigarettes or DVDs, counterfeited automobile parts with fake trademarks, and used credit card fraud to raise funds, Lowe reports. Counterfeiting is an irresistible crime, he notes, since it is hugely profitable and has a low priority in law enforcement. Additionally, he explains, funds raised from counterfeiting operations perpetrated by sympathizers - with no direct ties to the terrorist groups themselves - are a major indirect funding source for terrorism.

AA06202
Sung, Hung-En DEMOCRACY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN CROSS-NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE: FROM CRIME CONTROL TO DUE PROCESS (Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 605, May 2006, pp. 311-337)
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The author, with the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, states that the evolution of justice administration in democratizing countries is moving from control of crime to the advancement of due process. People respect and cooperate more with the justice system if they believe that their rights are protected throughout the due process. Furthermore, according to Sung, the transformation "from an authoritarian criminal justice system to a democratic one is cumulative but not inevitable, and the financial cost of creating and sustaining such a capable system would overwhelm many poor countries and take many years to develop fully." Therefore, economic standing of the government and its willingness to support the justice system's due process will also determine the pace of its democratization.

THE JUDICIARY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Kenneth W. Dam. The Brookings Institution. March 2006.
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The author contends that no degree of substantive law improvement -- even world "best practice" substantive law -- will bring the Rule of Law to a country without effective enforcement. A sound judiciary is key to enforcement. While some technical laws can be enforced by administrative means, a Rule of Law, in the primary economic sense of protecting property and enforcing contracts, requires a judiciary to resolve disputes between private parties. Moreover, protection against the state is made easier where the judiciary can resolve a controversy raised by a private party against the state, based on constitutional provisions or parliamentary legislation.

Several studies show some of the positive benefits of strong effective judiciaries, which include:

• The degree of judicial independence is correlated with economic growth.
• Better performing courts have been shown to lead to more developed credit markets.
• A stronger judiciary is associated with more rapid growth of small firms as well as with larger firms in the economy.
• Within individual countries, the relative competence of provincial and state courts affects comparative economic competitiveness.

[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]

AA06085
Friel, Brian. DEFENSE ATTORNEY
(National Journal, vol. 38, no. 9, March 4, 2006, pp. 19-25)
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Supporters of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales regard him as committed to the administration of justice and the war on terrorism, while critics argue that because of his prior position as chief White House counsel, he is serving as the President's defense attorney rather than the nation's top prosecutor. The author compares Gonzales' relationship with President Bush to that of former attorneys general and the presidents that they served under, and uses a graphic to demonstrate the various roles that previous attorneys general have played in the administrations of John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. Friel concludes that Gonzales' legacy as attorney general may depend not on whether he is too close to the president to be effective as his opponents argue, but whether or not that closeness "ultimately benefits the nation."

AA06037
Smith, Christopher E.; Hensley, Thomas R. DECISION-MAKING TRENDS OF THE REHNQUIST COURT ERA: CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES (Judicature, Vol. 89, No. 3, November/December 2005, pp. 161-169)
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In this article outlining the legacy of late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the authors compare the decision-making trends of the Rehnquist court to that of the Burger and Warren courts. The authors argue that despite Rehnquist's conservative orientation, an empirical study of Supreme Court rulings on civil rights and civil liberties demonstrates that during his tenure as chief justice, the court upheld several major liberal tenets. For example, although the court appears to be more conservative on issues such as the scope of warrant requirements in criminal cases, the court never actually overruled the Fourth Amendment protections from previous, more liberal courts. According to the authors, "The Rehnquist court did not overturn [certain] major liberal precedents...[and] the Rehnquist Court justices recognized Fourth Amendment limitations on warrantless searches especially in regard to a person's private dwelling." The authors use tables and graphs to provide a snapshot of the Warren, Burger and Rehnquist courts' rulings on major issues, as well as an analysis on individual Rehnquist court justices' voting patterns.

AA06020
Perlman, Ellen. A LOOSER LOCKUP (Governing, Vol. 19, No. 4, January 2006, pp. 37-42)
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Missouri's 30-year-old youth treatment program, which focuses on rehabilitation, has become a model for other states, many of which have unsuccessfully tried get-tough policies. The widespread interest in Missouri's program not only reflects the realization that rehabilitating and returning juveniles to their homes is better for the kids but also it can result in huge cost savings. One of the fundamental changes Missouri made was to separate youth services from adult corrections; otherwise, juvenile services tend to be overshadowed by the punitive nature of adult corrections. The program is designed to keep the juveniles in the community, with lower level of security, enabling them to develop dreams for themselves with a degree of freedom; the program also sees families not as the problem but as the answer, offering family therapy. Missouri's program is based on "positive peer culture," in which youths help their peers, it inculcates positive values in them. It also offers family therapy, incorporates community volunteer advocacy groups, and provides "aftercare" on the "outside" with "trackers," who help youths with issues they face upon returning to their homes and schools. The author notes that Missouri's success rates are exceptional, writing that "the Show-Me State is doing it with less money," proving that "keeping the kids in the least restrictive environment is the best use of the taxpayer dollar."

AA05358
Neil, Martha CASES AND CONTROVERSIES (ABA Journal, vol. 91, no. 10, October 2005, pp. 38-42)
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Neil, a lawyer and writer for the ABA Journal, discusses judges' role in hearing "cases and controversies." The title, "Cases and Controversies," is what the Constitution says that judges decide, but judges also decide rights, according to Ted Olson, former US Solicitor General. The public, Congress, and losing parties in judicial decisions argue that judges and their decisions have over-reached their intended powers. Neil discusses important, emotional cases that have reached the courts and a new commission designed to educate the American public about the appropriate structure of government.

AA05343
Peterson, Todd David OH BEHAVE! CONGRESS'S RECENT EFFORTS TO PUNISH FEDERAL JUDGES FLOUT THE CONSTITUTION; IT SAYS SO IN THE GOOD BEHAVIOR CLAUSE (Legal Affairs, November/December 2005, pp. 16-18)
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Peterson raises the question of how and under what circumstances federal judges may be removed. The Good Behavior Clause in the Constitution guarantees judges the right to keep their positions based on just that, "good behavior." The framers saw the Constitution as the mechanism to guarantee an independent judiciary, in which federal judges would be removable only by impeachment (requiring a Senate trial). In the wake of increasing friction between the judiciary and Congress, Peterson notes that it may be "too late in the game" to argue that the behavior clause allows for other forms of removal (however, judges have been removed for bribery, tax evasion, and other crimes).

While Congress has launched some "comical" efforts to reign in judges, such as a bill seeking to overturn judicial review, an effort to insert a Congressional Inspector General into the judiciary and to conduct investigations of judges has begun. Peterson finds this "problematic" and warns that judges should not have to start looking over their shoulders as they make decisions. Good behavior, he says, takes place when judges are allowed to act independently.

AA05339
Hobson, Charles F. CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN MARSHALL: A MAN WITH AN EASY, NATURAL DIGNITY, AND A MIND OF IMPERIAL POWERS (Colonial Williamsburg, vol. 27, no. 4, Autumn 2005, pp. 68-72)
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Hobson, editor of the Marshall Papers and author of THE GREAT CHIEF JUSTICE: JOHN MARSHALL AND THE RULE OF LAW (1996), profiles the fourth chief justice of the United States on the 250th anniversary of the year of his birth. The youngest and longest-serving chief justice, Marshall had been a soldier, state legislator, lawyer, diplomat, member of Congress, and secretary of state before taking office. It was as chief justice, however, that he was able to use all of his experience "to make the precedents that would lay the foundation of American constitutional jurisprudence." These included establishing the Constitution as a law that overrode ordinary legislative acts when the two conflicted, separating law and politics to create an independent judiciary, and developing the mystique that remains the basis of the court's extraordinary powers to this day.

SUPREME COURT APPOINTMENT PROCESS: ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, AND SENATE [RL31989]
Denis Steven Rutkus. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. July 6, 2005
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The appointment of a Supreme Court Justice is an infrequent event of major significance in American politics. Each appointment is important because of the enormous judicial power the Supreme Court exercises as the highest appellate court in the federal judiciary. Appointments are infrequent, as a vacancy on the nine-member Court may occur only once or twice, or never at all during a particular presidential session. The US Constitution dictates that these Justices receive lifetime appointments. This issue brief outlines the process of appointment, ranging from the President’s selection of a nominee, consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and finally, senate confirmation.

AA05217
Jost, Kenneth FITTING THE NINE IN A NEW DOCKET (CQ Weekly, vol. 63, no. 26, June 27, 2005, pp. 1704-1711)
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Jost, a journalist, examines the five top themes for the October 2005 Supreme Court session. He states that the central issues facing the court are fundamentally different from those that have dominated its docket for most of the 33 years that Justice Rehnquist has been on the court. The court will need to decide what are the constitutional rights of suspected enemy combatants; whether the government may deny marriage rights to gay men and lesbians; to what extent foreign and international law should be factored in deciding cases in U.S. courts; states' rights issues; and cases where religious expression issues are debated.

AA05283
Rosen, Jeffrey ROBERTS V. THE FUTURE (New York Times Magazine, August 28, 2005, pp. 24-51)
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The author, a legal scholar, first met Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. in 2002 when Roberts was an attorney. While Congress is preparing for his confirmation hearings, Rosen muses about the controversies that the Court will confront within the next two decades. It is interesting to see how Roberts might react, Rosen notes, but even more interesting to see the evolving sociology that could come to be not only America, but much of the rest of the world.

AA05248
Bettleheim, Adriel SOUND AND FURY, BUT SIGNIFYING WHAT? (CQ Weekly Report, vol. 63, no. 30, July 25, 2005, pp. 2032-2037)
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Bettleheim describes abortion as a litmus test for Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, despite the fact that there are no pending abortion cases, just incremental restrictions. Roberts has stated that ROE V. WADE, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, is a "long-settled precedent." The decision remains highly contentious -- both Republicans and Democrats use the abortion issue to galvanize voters and help raise political contributions. Michelle Dillon, a sociologist interviewed for the article, states that the issue of abortion "continues to define American society because it vividly captures a social problem."

AA05250
Rauch, Jonathan YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION (National Journal, vol. 37, no. 31, July 30, 2005, pp. 2438-2443)
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Both conservative and liberal partisans view the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as a turning point for the Supreme Court. Opinion columnist Jonathan Rauch writes, however, that the new era of aggressive conservative jurisprudence expected by both sides is unlikely to materialize. Previous large turnovers of justices in the early 1970s and 1990s did not result in a revolution for either side. Rauch notes that legally, incremental change is likelier than revolution and continuity is likelier than reversal. He writes that as long as the Supreme Court sees precedent as the touchstone of legal and social stability, it will be reluctant to make dramatic changes to established law. The results of the judicial revolution hoped for by some activists and feared by others are not as certain as both sides assume, Rauch states.

AA05232
Goldman, Sheldon; Slotnick, Elliot; Schiavoni, Sara W. BUSH'S JUDICIARY: THE FIRST TERM RECORD (Judicature, Vol. 88, No. 6, May-June 2005)
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The authors provide a comparative look at President Bush's judicial selection and those of the last four U.S. presidents, while analyzing the politics of appointments and confirmations using first-hand accounts of the process as their guide. The authors discuss at the length the Bush administration's process of identifying and vetting candidates for federal judgeships, and parse out the roles of the various players within the White House, Department of Justice, think tanks and other organizations in the process. The article also explains the congressional confirmation process with a timely discussion of issues such as recess appointments and the "nuclear issue." The article also contains several interesting side bars, including biographies of Bush nominees as well as statistics on judicial diversity. This is an excellent primer on the political and practical process of judicial nominations.

Rosen, Jeffrey REHNQUIST THE GREAT? (The Atlantic Monthly, April 2005, pp. 79-90 )
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Jeffrey Rosen, a law professor at George Washington University, profiles the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge William Rehnquist. This article focuses on Rehnquist's talents and achievements in the Supreme Court during his thirty-four years in office. Rehnquist managed to take the middle way quite successfully - liberals tended to group him with the other conservatives on the Court, whereas conservatives never fully embraced him as one of their own but despite this, Rosen concludes that "even liberals may come to regard William Rehnquist as one of the most successful chief justices of the century".

AA05120
JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS: THE DEBATE OVER THE "NUCLEAR OPTION" (Congressional Digest, vol. 84, no. 5, May 2005, pp. 129-160)
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The role of the Senate in approving presidential appointments has become highly contentious in the current U.S. Congress, and a showdown is looming over several judicial appointees of President George W. Bush. At the center of the controversy is the use of the filibuster, a means to delay or prevent a vote, which the Senate Democratic minority is threatening to use. With the Republicans' 55-vote majority in the Senate, the filibuster is the Democrats' only means to prevent a confirmation. To force a vote, the Senate Republican leadership is threatening to use the so-called "nuclear option" -- a maneuver that would change the "super-majority" (60 out of 100 votes) needed to approve a judicial nominee to a simple majority (51 or more votes), with the Vice-President on hand to break a tie if needed. Observers note that the current dispute has implications far beyond the issue of judicial nominations. Articles in this issue of Congressional Digest include discussions of rules governing Senate debate, constitutional implications, use of filibusters in the past, the process of federal judicial selections, and pro-and-con statements by individual Senators.

AA05107
Carter, Terry THE VERDICT ON JURIES (ABA Journal, Vol. 91, April 2005, pp. 40-46)
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Carter, a senior writer for the ABA Journal, describes jury reform initiatives going on at the state level. The American Bar Association has created 19 standards to reform the present jury system. These standards are ideals that court systems should try to achieve and some of the changes are as mundane as permitting note-taking by jurors, allowing jurors to ask questions, and requiring unanimous verdicts. The National Center for State Courts is examining the changes and reporting that most participants view the changes favorably.

AA05075
McKay, Jim SHOW AND TELL (Government Technology, Vol. 18, No. 1, January 2005, pp. 16-24)
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McKay, Justice editor for Government Technology, describes a computer system that can speed up court trials. With a computer-assisted litigation system, attorneys are able to show exhibits to the judge and jury at the same time. Instead of spending ten minutes passing an exhibit around the jury box, jurors will be able to view the exhibit on a computer screen and listen to the attorney's description simultaneously. In cases where there are many exhibits, the trial time could be cut in half. Currently, the cost of such a system is very high, but a manufacturer of this technology believes that there will be money five years from now to catch up with case backlogs. Many law schools are now offering courses in computer-assisted litigation.

AA05027
Carter, Terry MUD AND MONEY (ABA Journal, Vol. 91, February 2005, pp. 40-45)
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Carter, a senior writer for the ABA journal, discusses the influence of special interest groups and television ads on judicial elections. Last year, according to the author, attack or support ads for judicial candidates appeared in all 15 states where state supreme court seats were in play, up from only four states in 2000. Carter explores whether the ads, which include attacks on decisions made by incumbent judges on issues ranging from criminal matters to abortion, are damaging the public's confidence in the judiciary. The article also discusses efforts to reform judicial election law, including North Carolina's establishment of publicly financed judicial campaigns.

AA05018
Gibeaut, John CELEBRITY JUSTICE (ABA Journal, Vol. 91, January 2005, pp. 42-49)
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Famous legal defendants get special treatment, thereby causing the appearance of a two-tiered court system, writes Gibeaut. Citing the criminal trials of celebrities including Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart and Kobe Bryant, the author argues that criminal court judges have recently begun granting celebrities a far-reaching right to privacy -- including the prolonged sealing of court documents and hearings closed to the press -- that extends well beyond the right given to ordinary citizens in criminal cases. Gibeaut argues that judges' rulings to protect the privacy of these celebrities may also be a violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment which has been interpreted by case law to include the right of the public and press to attend criminal trials.

FIFTEEN YEARS OF GUIDELINES SENTENCING: AN ASSESSMENT OF HOW WELL THE FEDERAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS ACHIEVING THE GOALS OF SENTENCING REFORM.
United States Sentencing Commission. November 2004.

Note: The full report takes a long time to download; users may wish to either download just the Executive Summary or go to the Table of Contents page and select portions of the report.

Full Report [pdf format, 246 pages]

Table of Contents page [sections in pdf format, various pagings]

Executive Summary and Preface [pdf format, 16 pages]

This study is a comprehensive review of the research literature and sentencing data to assess how well the guidelines have achieved the goals for sentencing reform established by Congress in the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. These goals include increased certainty and transparency of sentences, increased severity of sentences for certain types of serious crimes, and reduced sentencing disparity, including racial and ethnic disparity.

AA05001
Garrow, David J. THE ONCE AND FUTURE SUPREME COURT (American History, vol. 39, no. 6, February 2005, pp. 29-36)
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With two Supreme Court Justices past their eightieth birthday, and only one younger than 65, President Bush will at least begin the process of nominating a new Supreme Court. Garrow says that what's important is whether Bush continues the trend of the last 35 years of nominating appellate court judges, little known outside of legal circles, or whether he will revert to the earlier practice of naming better-known national figures with political experience. The Justices from the appellate courts -- both liberals and conservatives -- have been very comfortable with judicial activism, Garrow says, while the earlier, politically experienced Justices were more restrained.

Gorman, Siobhan SUPREME COURT: WHITE HOUSE CALCULUS (National Journal, December 10, 2004)
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The current Supreme Court's lineup has not been stable since the 1820s, but since Bush won re-election, he will probably avoid becoming the only full-term president other than Jimmy Carter never to name anyone to the Supreme Court. Court watchers are predicting that Bush will get as many as three new nominations to the court, and through this, may influence the nations' direction for decades to come. The author discusses Bush's potential remolding of the U.S. Supreme Court in the light of previous president's nominations.

Taylor, Stuart SUPREME COURT: WHO MIGHT GET THE NOD? (National Journal, December 10, 2004)
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Although President Bush has kept his short list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court confidential, the author has identified and provided biographies of ten potential candidates.

AA04373
Mize, Gregory E.; Connelly, Christopher J. JURY TRIAL INNOVATIONS: CHARTING A RISING TIDE (Court Review vol. 41, no. 1, Spring 2004, pp. 4-10)
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Several recent U.S. Supreme Court and state court rulings have given jurors in many circumstances increased and more complex duties such as determining claims of mental retardation as a defense in cases where the death penalty can be given as a punishment. As over 30 U.S. states have begun steps to improve their jury trial systems, the authors explore new methods that courts are using to insure that jury trials are more accurate and fair, including the creation of clearer jury instructions and post-verdict meetings between judges and jurors. The authors outline several pilot programs that have been completed in states such as New Jersey and Massachusetts, and discuss the findings and implementation of these programs. Finally, the authors explore the newly implemented National Jury Trial Innovations Program, which includes court officials from more than 45 states, and is expected to create a national and unified movement towards improved jury trials.

BUILDING JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE IN PAKISTAN. [Asia Report No. 86]
International Crisis Group (ICG). November 10, 2004.
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This new report form ICG says that the government of Pervez Musharraf has deepened the judiciary's subservient position among national institutions, ensured that politics trumps the rule of law, and weakened the foundations for democratic rule. In the immediate aftermath of Musharraf's October 1999 coup, according to ICG, the judiciary was purged of judges who might have opposed the military's unconstitutional moves. Benefiting from the same tools used by previous military regimes under Generals Ayub Khan and Zia-ul-Haq, the current military government has also manipulated the system of appointments and promotions to ensure that its allies fill key positions.

The report's authors outline how irregularities at the top affect the judicial system down through the most local levels: "Dysfunction in the superior judiciary also impedes reform in the subordinate judiciary, which comprises the trial courts in which most ordinary business is transacted. Appalling under-resourcing and endemic corruption in the subordinate judiciary lead to agonising delays in even the simplest cases and diminish public confidence in the courts and in the rule of law." ICG argues that substantial changes in the legislative framework for appointments, promotions and removals of judges, as well as the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts, are needed to restore that confidence. Reform depends upon a credible commitment by the government to respect the rule of law as much as upon legislated change.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, 2003.
Thomas P. Bonczar and Tracy L. Snell. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). November 14, 2004.
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This publication presents characteristics of persons under sentence of death in the United States on December 31, 2003, and of persons executed in 2003. Preliminary data on executions by States during 2004 are included, and the report summarizes the movement of prisoners into and out of death sentence status during 2003. Numerical tables present data on offenders' sex, race, Hispanic origin, education, marital status, age at time of arrest for capital offense, legal status at time of capital offense, methods of execution, trends, and time between imposition of death sentence and execution.

Among the significant data provided are the following:

• At the end of 2003, 37 States and the Federal prison system held 3,374 prisoners under sentence of death, 188 fewer than at year-end 2002.
• Of those under sentence of death, 56% were white 42% were black, and 2% were of other races.
• Forty-seven women were under sentence of death in 2003, up from 38 in 1993.
• During 2003 Texas executed 24 inmates; Oklahoma 14; North Carolina seven; Ohio, Alabama, Florida and Georgia three each; Indiana, Missouri and Virginia two each; Arkansas and the federal government one each.

AA04341
Pearson, Sarah S. WHAT'S BEHIND YOUTH COURTS' GROWTH SPURT? (State News, vol. 47, no. 8, September 2004, pp. 29-31)
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Starting in the 1970s, youth courts were seen as a way to encourage civic involvement and even to give at-risk children a taste of the career possibilities in the justice system. Author Sarah Pearson, a senior program associate with the American Youth Policy Forum, examines the rising popularity of these courts targeting teens between the ages of 11 and 18 who have committed minor offenses. Youth courts require participants to admit guilt before they are admitted to a system led by their peers, who work closely with juvenile justice professionals, school personnel, and the community. Offenders are sentenced by their peers; penalties include community service and writing personal apologies to victims. Pearson notes that such courts are a cost effective way for states to deal with youthful offenders in an era of tight state budgets. She cites the example of Florida's youth court system where 25,000 cases were handled at a cost of $400 per offender -- thousands below the per-child cost of traditional juvenile courts.