With nothing more powerful than a pen and a voice, judges can and do determine the outcome of elections, who lives and who dies, and what rights citizens have under their form of government. Their role in society can lead directly to a change in national leadership, as the events in Pakistan recently demonstrated. Where a nation’s judiciary is independent, fair and impartial, citizens know that their rights and freedoms will be protected by the law, and that increases public trust and confidence.

The Judicial Division of the American Bar Association is the ABA’s home for judges and is the judicial voice of the American Bar Association. With more than 4,000 members, we work actively to support an open, fair and impartial judiciary through our programs, publications and initiatives. The Judicial Division is dedicated to fair and impartial courts, judicial education, public education about the rule of law and the judicial system, judicial ethics and professionalism, and access and innovation to and within our courts. The Division accomplishes these goals through its six conferences—five of which are comprised of judges, and the sixth of which is made up of lawyers who support the judiciary and the goals of the Division. Our five judicial conferences represent every type of judge—specialized court judges, who handle unique kinds of cases, such as probate, juvenile, and municipal cases, as well as judges with specialized jurisdiction, such as military and tribal court judges; state trial judges with general jurisdiction; federal trial judges; state and federal appellate judges; and the administrative law judiciary. Each judicial conference pursues an agenda consistent with the nature of the work of its judicial members, and the lawyers conference, as well as the appellate judges conference’s councils of staff attorneys and appellate lawyers, provide a unique and valuable perspective that allows members to explore how to improve the system, while also supporting the work of the conferences. All join in and support the overarching agenda of the Division.

Last year, Chair Jim Wynn, a distinguished judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, focused on the Rule of Law—through President Bill Neukom’s World Justice Project, and through Rule of Law Initiatives convened in more than thirty states and participated in not only by judges and lawyers, but also by other professionals.

This year, we will continue to support rule of law initiatives in the states that have not yet hosted conferences, and we will also pursue training opportunities for judges who wish to teach abroad to help enhance the rule of law in other nations. We will also focus on particular domestic issues—barriers to access for those whose native cultures and norms differ markedly from those in the United States or who do not speak English well and who are therefore hampered in participating in all parts of our judicial system, and differing perceptions of our courts in various communities. We will also focus on innovative ways to enhance and facilitate the fair and efficient administration of justice in tough economic times.

I strongly believe that the partnership between lawyers and judges in the American Bar Association provides judges with the opportunity to explain the many strengths and values of our system to the American public and the executive and legislative branches, and to assist in enhancing the rule of law in other nations. The ABA has stood strongly with us as a tireless advocate for a fair and impartial judiciary and we intend during 2008-09 to build on that very strong foundation. In stressing the theme of Access and Innovation during the upcoming year, we will partner with ABA President Tommy Wells.

Honorable Barbara M. G. Lynn, Chair