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Disciplining the Professional Judge |
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Sambhav N. Sankar |
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| Recent controversies involving the California Commission on Judicial Performance (CJP) lead the author to investigate the structure and function of judicial conduct organizations. The author suggests that we discipline judges to vindicate three values: democratic public accountability, fidelity to the rule of law, and adherence to public norms of professional conduct. Against each of these goals stand different facets of the norm of judicial independence. The author argues that traditional mechanisms of judicial discipline typically serve one goal and have structural limits to avoid excessive encroachments upon judicial independence. He then compares the CJP with the federal judicial councils, and indicates that structural differences in the two organizations are at the root of the praise and criticism they each receive. The Comment concludes with suggestions to improve the overall effectiveness of the CJP. | |
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Copyright
© 2000 by California Law Review, Inc. |
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