Articles Posted in The Judiciary

From Brenda k. Uekert, Senior Research Associate, National Center for State Courts:

The Court Training and Improvements Program (Courts Program) was created by the Violence Against Women Act of 2005. The specific criteria that will be used to solicit proposals for the Courts Program is currently being considered by the appropriate federal entities. The National Center for State Courts seeks input from courts on your ongoing needs (e.g., domestic violence courts, training, hiring/retaining specialized staff) in the areas of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

We have the opportunity to help shape the solicitation that will introduce the Courts Program grants. We are particularly interested in the topics of domestic violence courts/dockets and training. We would like to hear from you about your current challenges and needs. What specific components of a grant program would help improve your court’s responses to the types of acts noted in the Violence Against Women Act?

To help those who are interested in information beyond that available in the popular news media regarding Judge Sotomayor we have assembeled two background documents, two of Judge Sotomayor’s opinions, one from 2002 and another from 2008. Also included is a completed copy of the questionnaire of Judge Sotoamyor prepared for and delivered to the Senate Judiciary Committee. All judicial candidates such as Sonia Sotomayor are required to complete and submit a questionnaire as part of the confirmation process. You can view these documents from the links below. The links contain brief title descriptions of the respective materials:

Background on Judge Sonie Sotomayor Prepared by the White House, May 2009

Vote Summary on the Nomination of

Pursuant to Section 42, paragraph 4, of the Judiciary Law of the State of New York the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct respectfully submits the Annual Report 2009 of its activities covering the period from January 1 through December 31, 2008.

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct is the state agency responsible for investigating complaints of misconduct against judges of the state unified court system and, where appropriate, determining to admonish, censure or remove from office those judges found to have engaged in unethical behavior. All determinations are subject to review in the Court of Appeals, New York State’s highest court.

New York State. Commissdion on Judicial Conduct, Annual Report 2009

QUESTION*

For courts who have translated their public website into the Spanish and/or Vietnamese languages:

Do you have a Spanish and/or Vietnamese version of your court public website?

A Quarterly of the Judicial Division of the American Bar Association Winter 2009. Volume 48 No. 1

Each issue of this journal contains featured articles and standing columns all of which relate in some way to a broad theme selected for that particular issue. The theme selected for this particular issue Winter 2009 is “The Art of Judging in the 21st Century”. As Judge Sophia H. Hall observes in the Forword, “Judges of the twenty-first century must be ready to learn everything , in the words of H.G. Wells, ‘Adapt or perish, now as ever, is Nature’s inexorable imperative’ “.

The Feature articles in this issue are:

“Judge Uses Vulgar Language As She is Charged”, an article by Edmund H. Mahoney and Jon Lender, published in the January 27, 2009 Hartford Courant, reports that a Connecticut Superior Court judge is accused of arguing with a police officer and calling him a “Negro trooper”. The folllowing links to both the article and a “booking video”:

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-cofield0127.artjan27,0,2287060.story

In a January 28, 2009 New York Times article, “Hang Him Up? The Bad Judge and His Image”, Benjamin Weiser describes a debate that has arisen in a New York Courthouse over whether the portrait of a disgraced judge should continue to be displayed or thrown in a closet.

To read the story click on the link below to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/nyregion/28portrait.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Contact Information