2004 Forum

2004 Forum for State Appellate Court Judges

Still Co-Equal? State Courts, Legislatures, and the Separation of Powers

July 3, 2004
Boston Marriott Copley Place
Boston, Massachusetts

Click on the links below to read the papers:

Keeping CoEqual: State Court Defenses Against Legislative Encroachment, by Robert F. Williams

Lawmaking and Judicial Review: What degree of Deference Should State Courts Give to Legislative Findings? by Helen Hershkoff

Click here to see the agenda

(Sharon Arkin, Forum Panelist and Roscoe Pound Institute Trustee)

The Pound Institute held its most successful Forum for State Appellate Court Judges ever this summer in Boston. Over 140 state appellate and trial judges (including over 30 State Supreme Court Justices) from 39 states came to Boston to discuss the very important topic, Still Co-Equal? State, Courts, Legislatures, and the Separation of Powers. The 12th Annual Judges Forum topic examined the relationship between state courts and state legislatures, and focused on the actions of legislatures that infringe upon the power and independence of the judiciary.

(Honorable John Greaney, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court)

The distinguished panel of commentators included Hon. John Greaney, an Associate Justice from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; Hon. Steven Levinson, an Associate Justice from the Hawaii Supreme, Court; Dr. Stephen Daniels from the American Bar Foundation, a nationally renowned expert on the jury system and a member of Pound's Academic Advisory Board; Sharon Arkin, Esq. from Newport Beach, California, a Trustee of the Pound Institute; Kathryn Clarke, Esq., from Portland, Oregon, a past-president of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association and Robert Peck, Esq., President of ATLA's Center for Constitutional Litigation.

The Forum featured a lively luncheon by Hon. Herbert Wilkins (Ret.), Former Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, who regaled the crowd of judges with stories from his years on the bench.

(Professor Robert Williams, Rutgers University School of Law)

For over a decade, the Forum has brought State Supreme and Intermediate Appellate Court judges, law professors and trial lawyers together for a lively, open exchange on critical issues, building an intellectual bridge between these three very important groups. The Forum provides the Institute with the opportunity to present solid legal scholarship, supporting the right to trial by jury to judges from around the country. There is no more important judicial program in the country.

(Richard Middleton, President, Roscoe Pound Institute, and Panel Moderator with Panelists.)

The Forum is highly regarded by the judges who have attended the program. It has been called "one of the best seminars available to jurists in the country, " and as one participant described, "it was excellent. These programs help me to become a better judge."