Under Siege: The American Judiciary and the Rule of Law - seminar tomorrow

Updated to add appearance by Sen. Dick Durbin...

This is a low-cost ($25 to attend in-person, free online), five-hour CLE presentation set for tomorrow, May 5, from 9:00 to 4:30. It looks like the main room may already be filled, but, as of this morning, it also appears that registrations for an overflow room are being accepted. To register, click on this page of the CBA website.

Here is the schedule for tomorrow's presentation:

9:00 a.m. – Welcome and Introduction

Hon. Nichole Patton, CBA President
Daniel J. Cummins, The Cummins Family Justice Foundation

9:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. - The Landscape of Attacks on Judges

Individual judges are increasingly under political and physical attack based on their rulings or perceived philosophy. While there are some historical precedents, particularly during the Civil Rights Era, currently with doxxing, swatting, calls for impeachment, and threatening pizza deliveries, the level and frequency of the current vitriol and the personal impacts on judges and their families are unprecedented. These threats not only impact these individual judges, they pose systemic assaults on the rule of law.

Moderator: Hon. Jeremy Fogel (ret.), Executive Director, Berkeley Judicial Institute

Recorded remarks: Hon. Esther Salas, U.S District Court for the District of New Jersey

Panelists:

Hon. Joan Lefkow, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Hon. P. Scott Neville, Jr., Chief Justice, Illinois Supreme Court

Hon. James L. Robart, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington

10:45 a.m. -12:00 p.m. – Judicial Independence Under Pressure: Ethics, Constraints, and Public Engagement

What are the ethical guidelines for judges speaking out to address the critical issues of attacks on judges and on their judicial independence? What are the constraints? How does this issue intersect with ethical guidance encouraging judges to reach out to their communities? What is the role for lawyers, bar associations, retired judges, and others to serve as advocates for judicial independence?

Moderator: Hon. M. Margaret McKeown, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Panelists:

Hon. Virginia M. Kendall, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Hon. Debra L. Stephens, Chief Justice, Washington State Supreme Court

Charles Gardner Geyh, Distinguished Professor and John F. Kimberling Professor, Indiana University Maurer School of Law

12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Luncheon

Hon. Stephen Breyer (ret.), United States Supreme Court

Hon. Diane P. Wood (ret.), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; Director of the American Law Institute and Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School

Moderator: Hon. M. Margaret McKeown, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

1:30 p.m.– 2:45 p.m. – Protecting the Integrity of the Judicial Disciplinary Process

Increasingly, parties outside the judiciary have alleged ethics violations in criticizing judges for their rulings and speech. The panel will examine such efforts, including investigations at the federal level and attempts in some states to politically influence judicial ethics oversight bodies. The panel will also discuss the importance of creating independent disciplinary-enforcement structures that include judges, lawyers, and non-lawyers as a way to maintain ethical boundaries and public confidence in the judiciary.

Moderator: Robert H. Tembeckjian, Administrator & Counsel, New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct

Panelists:

Robert P. Deyling, Assistant General Counsel, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

Hon. Teri L. Jackson, Presiding Justice, California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Five

Paula Wolff, Illinois Courts Commission

Vincent E. Doyle III, Partner, Connors LLP

UPDATED: Outgoing Illinois Senator Richard J. Durbin is now expected to offer remarks at about 2:45 p.m.

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Where Do We Go from Here? Lawyers, Institutions, and the Duty to Safeguard the Rule of Law

Where do we go from here? Members of the legal profession have a sworn duty to defend the Constitution, the rule of law and the justice system. As bar associations and as individual lawyers what are our responsibilities and avenues for defending the rule of law? What can and should each of us be doing to protect this most precious aspect of our democracy?

Moderator: Robert Cummins, The Cummins Law Firm, P.C.
Panelists:

James Alfini, Dean and Professor Emeritus South Texas College of Law Houston

Michelle Behnke, President, American Bar Association; Senior Counsel, Boardman Clark

Hon. Rubén Castillo (ret.), U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Daniel A. Cotter, Member, Aronberg Goldghen

Hon. Jeremy Fogel (ret.), Executive Director, Berkeley Judicial Institute

Maurice Possley (ret.), Chicago Tribune

Joseph H. Thompson, Founding Partner, Thompson Jacobs PLLC; Former Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota

Andrew W. Vail, Partner, Jenner & Block

Elizabeth Wright, Executive Director, Utah State Bar

David Zimmer, Partner, Zimmer Citron & Clarke

4:30 pm - Closing Remarks

Molly Cummins, The Cummins Family Justice Foundation

A reception will follow the seminar for in-person registrants.