New York City Symposium on Judicial Selection and Independence to be Held April 7, 2006.

Here's an announcement about an extremely important and timely symposium of interest to the legal community. I have a friend who is involved in this, so talk it up, spread the word, and if possible, check it out:

On Friday April 7, 2006, there will be a SYMPOSIUM held at Fordham University School of Law in New York City on the subject of judicial selection and independence. The Symposium is free and open to the public.

The Symposium, titled "Rethinking Judicial Selection: A Critical Appraisal of Appointive Selection for State Court Judges," will focus on discussion of various models of appointive selection of state court judges. Norman Greene, a partner at Schoeman, Updike & Kaufman in Manhattan, was recently quoted in the New York Law Journal shedding some light on the content of the Symposium:

An appointive system by itself tells you nothing about whether it is a good system, absolutely nothing," Mr. Greene said. "But almost all of the good government groups . . . support an 'appointive' system. If we start with the assumption that an appointive system is the way to go, how do we develop a good appointive system? To say that you need a diverse, independent, credible body making these decisions doesn't make it so. What are the mechanics?"

Papers will be published in the distinguished Fordham Urban Law Journal in the Summer of 2006. The Symposium will feature panels comprised of distinguished jurists, law professors, and political science professors from all over the country. Registration is free for the event, but encouraged in advance. RSVPs are encouraged by April 3, 2006.

The Symposium is being sponsored by The American Judicature Society, The Constitution Project, New York State League of Women Voters, Stein Center for Law and Ethics, Fordham Law School, and The Fund for Modern Courts.


Important Links:
Fordham Law School Information Page.
Registration Page.
ABA Net Publicity Page.
Justice at Stake Campaign Publicity Page.
Demos Democracy Dispatch Publicity Page.
NY State Bar Association Publicity Page.
New York Law Journal Article (subscription required).

**UPDATES:**
Thank you to the following fine blogs for helping me to get the word out on this Symposium:
Either End of the Curve (Reader_IAm)
Infamy or Praise (Colin Samuels)
The World According to Pooh (Seth)
The Legal Reader (John)