Is the Best Defense a Good Offense? The Ethics and Politics of Allowing Judges to Advocate Controversial Views

Elected officials, interest groups, and the media often pressure judges to reveal information about their personal beliefs and to explain how these beliefs affect judicial decision making.  Most judges refuse to respond to such pressure in an effort to maintain judicial independence and the appearance of impartiality.  Are judges choosing the right path?  Would judges better serve the cause of judicial independence if they openly aired their personal views?  Please join us for a panel discussion featuring the Hon. Joanne Alper, distinguished SU alumna and sitting judge, and Professor Charles Gardner Geyh, one of the nation's leading authorities on judicial ethics.  This event is co-sponsored by the SU Office of Alumni Relations and the Tully Center for Free Speech.

Time: 9:30am-10:30am

Date:  Saturday, November 12, 2011

Location: Newhouse 3, Tirico Room, Room 250

Panelists:

Joanne Alper

Judge, Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Circuit of Virginia

Charles Gardner Geyh

Associate Dean for Research and John F. Kimberling Professor of Law, 

Indiana University, Bloomington

Moderator:

Keith Bybee

Director, Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media at Syracuse University

For detailed information on the event and Orange Central weekend, please visit: