Justice is the Business of Government: the Critical Role of
Fair and Impartial State Courts

American Bar Association President H. Thomas Wells, Jr., created the Presidential Commission on Fair and Impartial State Courts in August 2008 and charged it with organizing a national summit in the spring of 2009. From May 7-9 in Charlotte, North Carolina, delegations from 37 states and territories joined representatives of national organizations, bar associations and others actively interested in the adequate funding of the justice system to discuss how budget and economic concerns are affecting state court operations and impeding access to justice, and to enlist help from all branches of government in solving the crisis.

Presented in cooperation with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), the goal of “Justice is the Business of Government: the Critical Role of Fair and Impartial State Courts,” is to build strategies to dismantle natural tensions among branches of state government that imperil their ability to deliver on public expectations of justice.

Delegates in Charlotte recognized that justice is indeed the business of government. At a time of enormous strain on state and local budgets, it is the obligation of all three equal and independent branches to cooperate in defining and providing equal justice for all. Delegates concluded that this can only be accomplished through constructive and informed interbranch discussion aimed at understanding the interdependent roles of each branch while at the same time working together to meet the needs of the public.

Courts are curtailing hours and some are even closing permanently, says American Bar Association president H. Thomas Wells Jr. Probation and parole services are being curtailed, and sentencing proceedings are being delayed because of the budget crunch, Wells reports. "The economy is wreaking havoc with state budgets, adversely affecting our courts' ability to deliver justice," Wells said in a statement in advance of the conference. The support of all parts of state government, he added, is needed to "insure our justice system remains the envy of the world.

To tee up the conference, the NCSC commissioned a nationwide poll of 1,200 adults that offers mixed results about the public's awareness and support of state court issues. Speak up” sessions on designated topics provided delegates the opportunity to discuss and develop their own recommendations.  These recommendations will serve as the basis for an action plan to be pursued jointly by the three branches of government.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who serves as Honorary Chair of the Presidential Commission, addressed the conference, as did Massachusetts Chief Justice and Chair of the NCSC Board of Directors, Margaret Marshall. Justice Mark Martin of the North Carolina Supreme Court and Ned Madeira, a lawyer in private practice in Philadelphia, co-chair the Commission. Post-summit outreach will be coordinated by the ABA Standing Committee on Judicial Independence. The Standing Committee is chaired by Bill Weisenberg and is staffed by Tina Vagenas:

Bill Weisenberg
Phone:(614) 487-4414
Email: wweisenberg@ohiobar.org

Tina Vagenas
hone: (312) 988 -5105
Email: vagenask@staff.abanet.org