Rule of Law

The Collapse of Judicial Independence in Poland: A Cautionary Tale

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Vol. 104 No. 3 (2020-21) | Judges on the March

In late 2019, the Polish Sejm approved yet another law aimed at cabining the structure and function of the judiciary. The new law, popularly referred to as a “muzzle” law, empowers a disciplinary chamber to bring proceedings against judges for questioning the ruling party’s platform. The law allows the Polish government to fire judges, or cut their salaries, for speaking out against legislation aimed at the judiciary, or for questioning the legitimacy of new judicial appointees.

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Civic Education: The Key to Preserving Judicial Independence

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Vol. 104 No. 2 (2020) | Coping with COVID

At a time when the branches of government are making daily headlines, how do we educate the public about a fair and impartial judiciary and its vital role in our […]

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Judicial Independence: Tweak the Guiding Paradigm

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Vol. 104 No. 2 (2020) | Coping with COVID

Over time, the public has simply ceased to believe judges when they say that they follow the law, and nothing but. If judges impose their ideological policy preferences, the argument […]

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Protecting Fair and Impartial Courts: Reflections on Judicial Independence

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Vol. 104 No. 2 (2020) | Coping with COVID

I speak today about the importance of fair and impartial courts and the role of judicial independence in achieving that goal. I begin with two stories. Some years ago, my […]

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Judicial Review and Parliamentary Supremacy

Judicial Review & Parliamentary Supremacy

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Vol. 104 No. 1 (2020) | A Clearer View

The American version of judicial review stands alone — and almost never stood at all If Chief Justice John Marshall could have been transported on Dr. Who’s “Tardis” back to […]

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Communication Breakdown: How Courts Do — and Don’t — Respond to Statutory Overrides

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Vol. 104 No. 1 (2020) | A Clearer View

Courts and Congress are, at times, engaged in a kind of ongoing “conversation” about statutory law. Congress has exclusive power to enact statutes — but when statutory language is unclear, […]

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Justice Dikgang Moseneke

A Freedom Fighter and Judicial Luminary: 2020 Bolch Prize Honors Dikgang Moseneke of the South Africa Constitutional Court

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Vol. 104 No. 1 (2020) | A Clearer View

Dikgang Moseneke, an internationally revered jurist who helped build and lead a democratic South Africa as it emerged from apartheid, has been named the recipient of the 2020 Bolch Prize […]

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David F. Levi

From The Publisher

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Vol. 102 No. 1 (2018) | Forensic Fail

What an honor it is for me to greet you as the inaugural director of the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School. As you will read in this journal, […]

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Boxed In: Does the Prospect of Re-Selection Influence Judicial Decision Making?

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Vol. 103 No. 3 (2019) | Fees, Fines, and Bail

When Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer was given the opportunity to write on a topic of her choosing as part of Duke Law’s Master of Judicial Studies program, she gravitated […]

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David F. Levi

From The Publisher

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Vol. 102 No. 2 (2018) | Rights That Made The World Right

We received news of Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s retirement as we prepared this edition of Judicature for printing. We look forward to paying tribute to him in a later […]

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