Archive: June 2026
Mexico’s Judicial Elections: Reform or Government Takeover?
A panel of scholars examines Mexico’s judicial reforms, exploring how direct elections, political control, and institutional design are reshaping the judiciary, its independence, and public trust in the courts. The […]
Disfavored Precedent as a Challenge for the Lower Federal Courts
Lower Federal Courts Face Recurring Uncertainty When the U.S. Supreme Court Weakens but Does Not Overrule Precedent. We Offer a Decisional Authority Model to Guide Lower Courts in Handling Such […]
One Day in Federal Court: An Informal Case Study of Trauma-Informed Practices
Most people will experience a traumatic event in their lives. Few, however, will experience the kind of life-altering trauma forced upon Esther Salas, judge for the District of New Jersey, […]
The Architecture of Respect: Inside the D.C. Circuit
Two judges appointed by presidents of different parties reflect on collegiality, dissent, and why respect — not agreement — is the foundation of judicial independence. At the 2025 annual meeting […]
Courts in the Wild: Magistrate Judges in U.S. National Parks
As any lawyer in the federal courts knows, magistrate judges fulfill many critical roles. One unique and lesser known of those roles is the work of magistrate judges in our […]
Challenges in Appellate Review of Video- and Audio-Recorded Trial Evidence
Video and audio don’t always speak for themselves. In appellate courts, the significance and weight of recorded evidence often will turn on perception as much as precedent. The proliferation of […]
‘Never the Attorney’: Race, Gender, and Misattribution in the Legal Profession
Women attorneys, especially women of color, are often mistaken for nonlawyer staff — a routine misidentification that signals who is seen as belonging in the profession. “I don’t know if they just see […]
Judging AI: How U.S. Judges Can Harness Generative AI Without Compromising Justice
In a voting-rights trial with thousands of pages of evidence, generative AI tools offered a glimpse of how technology might ease the judiciary’s heaviest burdens. E-discovery tools that harness the power […]
Judicial Well-Being: From an ‘Unmentionable Topic’ to a Global Conversation
On March 4, 2025, the United Nations General Assembly voted to declare July 25 as the International Day for Judicial Well-being. The day joins a calendar of just over 200 […]
Asking All the Right Questions: Benefits of Juror Questionnaires and Attorney-Conducted Voir Dire
The Seventh Amendment guarantees litigants a right to trial by jury, and, for more than 200 years, the voir dire process has been used in the United States to ensure […]