Defending the Judiciary

Law360 has two interesting pieces today. First 9th Circ. Judge Warns 'Judicial Independence Is At Risk' about how, in accepting the ABA's John Marshall Award on Friday, Judge McKeown "told a room packed with judges and attorneys that recent attacks on judges pose a threat to the rule of law, and urged her colleagues to do more to defend judicial independence." (The article notes, "In March 2017, California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye issued a similar warning to the Golden State legislature, saying that “the rule of law is being threatened” in the United States, with all three branches of government and the free press seeing their values, practices and laws called into question.") Judge McKeown "dedicated her award to all imperiled judges around the world, including a Turkish judge — whom she called only Judge Mahmet — who she says has been imprisoned since 2008 after writing about his support for judicial independence there."

Judge McKeown urged her colleagues to remember that the "rule of law is more than just a catchy feel good phrase, it is the foundation of our democracy" and that it must be defended.

Second, Judges Say 'We've Had It' With Attacks on the Judiciary: "The time has come for judges to "take more aggressive action" to fight back against attacks on the judiciary made by President Trump and other politicians, Washington Supreme Court Justice Debra Stephens said Friday, speaking on a six-judge panel on the topic." (Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye was on the panel.)

As for the continuing CJP hearing, see Law360's Calif. Appellate Judge Demeaned Fellow Judges, Panel Hears and in today's DJ: Presiding Justice Criticizes Johnson's Work Performance.

And shocking news from the Wall Street Journal: Being a Law Firm Partner Was Once a Job for Life. That Culture Is All but Dead. At the modern law firm, not all partners are created equal, and data and billings rule