The Judicial Councils Reform and Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980 ushered in a new process for dealing with judicial misconduct – one of "decentralized self-regulation." In 2002 Congress amended the Act and also gave the judicial misconduct provisions their own chapter in the United...

No matter how judges are selected, sooner or later some unfortunate candidate will be labeled a "judicial activist." One has to wonder: Does the term have any identifiable core meaning? Or is it just an all-purpose term of opprobrium, reflecting whatever brand of judicial behavior the speaker...

In the traditional approach to ideological classification, “liberal” judicial decisions are those that support civil liberties claims; “conservative” decisions are those that reject them. That view – particularly associated with the Warren Court era – is reflected in numerous...

Sandra Day O'Connor retired from active service on the United States Supreme Court in early 2006. As her principal quot;retirement project,quot; she has taken on the task of defending the independence of the judiciary. In speeches, op-ed articles, and public interviews, she has warned that...

The traditional course in quot;Federal Courtsquot; - built on the model established by the great Hart and Wechsler casebook - focuses on issues of federalism, separation of powers, and institutional competence. That focus provides a powerful intellectual model for organizing the materials that...