What just happened? August 2017 roundup

The month in a nutshell: attacks on judicial independence are joined by actual attacks on judges, and the judiciary continues its slow embrace of technology

After a challenging July that saw significant threats to judicial independence in Poland, court systems worldwide might have hoped for some restoration of respect for the third branch as an independent entity.  Not so much: the Polish government continued to dig in its heels on reforms that would weaken the judiciary, leading to increased political tensions with the EU and especially Germany.  Near the end of the month, the government of Romania and the Palestinian authority announced their own efforts to circumscribe their judges’ independence in the name of populist reform.

Even more disheartening was a series of threats and attacks–both physical and on the internet–on judges across the world.  In Ohio, a judge was shot on the courthouse steps. Remarkably, he returned fire, and survived–and the fact that he was armed led to a broader discussion of how judges should protect themselves.  In the United Kingdom, the courts announced that visitors would have to take a sip of their drinks to prove they did not contain disfiguring acid.  In Mississippi, a state judge received death threats on social media after he removed the state flag (which partially contains the Confederate flag) from his courtroom.

But there was good news on the social media front as well.  A Florida panel ruled that Facebook friendships with attorneys do not automatically disqualify judges from hearing cases.  And more broadly in the realm of technology, two state supreme courts began streaming their oral arguments, and the U.S. Supreme Court finally adopted electronic filing.

Judicial independence under threat in Poland, Romania, Palestinian Authority

In Europe and the Middle East, several governments are taking authoritarian approaches to their judiciary, largely by creating frameworks under which judges can be removed or punished by other members of popularly elected branches.  A few updates after the jump. Continue reading “Judicial independence under threat in Poland, Romania, Palestinian Authority”

Hurricane Harvey’s impact on the courts

The devastation in the Houston area from Hurricane Harvey has extended to the state and local court systems, which have effectively been shut down.  State courthouses in Harris County, Texas are closed all week, and several other counties are scrambling to shift proceedings to available venues.  The federal courts in the Southern District of Texas also suspended operations for several days, a major development given that the district receives more than 14,000 filings a year.  The Eastern District of Texas and Western District of Louisiana also closed courthouses in light of the hurricane.

In the wake of real tragedy along Harvey’s path, the inconvenience of a closed courthouse is admittedly relatively minor.  But as those in the Gulf Coast begin the long process of reconstructing their communities, an operational and fully functioning court system will be a welcome development.

 

Mississippi state judge receives death threats on social media

Mississippi state judge Carlos Moore has been the subject of several threatening social media posts, including one stating, “You’re a piece of **** I guess you need a bullet in the head.”

Police believe that the posts are related to Judge Moore’s decision to remove the Mississippi state flag from his courtroom.  The state flag contains a miniaturized version of the Confederate flag in one corner.

The local police have issued arrest warrants for two men for cyberstalking threats.

New York judicial candidate has spent over $33K from campaign coffers on other candidates and causes

Typically, critiques of money and judicial politics focus on the concern that donors to judicial campaigns will expect favors from a judge after election, compromising the judge’s impartiality.  In a bizarre twist, the Buffalo News reports on a judicial candidate who is spending her donors’ contributions on other, unrelated campaigns:

When local attorneys, business people and others donated a record amount of money to Acea M. Mosey’s campaign fund, they knew they were giving money to an experienced lawyer and Democratic Party stalwart running for Erie County Surrogate Court judge.

What they may not have known is that some of their donations – at least $33,393 – would go to political parties, political organizations and seekers of a wide variety of other political offices, including candidates for Congress, Erie County sheriff, the mayor of Buffalo and chairman of the Erie County Democratic Committee.

Mosey’s campaign organization, Mosey for Surrogate committee, this year has given money – either in donations or expenditures – to a total of 167 political candidates, parties and organizations, according to a Buffalo News analysis of state Elections Board records.

Mosey, by the way, has raised $900,000 for her judicial election campaign even though she is running unopposed.

Florida: judges can be friends with lawyers on Facebook, because Facebook “friends” aren’t necessarily real friends

I reported last month on a motion to disqualify a Florida state judge from presiding over a case after it was learned that she was Facebook friends with opposing counsel.  The twist on the case was that the counsel in question had previously been a judge himself, and the Facebook connection dated back to a time when both judge and counsel were on the bench.

On Wednesday, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal issued a ten-page order, concluding that disqualification was not necessary.  The key language:

We agree with the Fifth District that “[a] Facebook friendship does not necessarily signify the existence of a close relationship.”  We do so for three reasons.  First, as the Kentucky Supreme Court noted, “some people have thousands of Facebook ‘friends.’…

Second, Facebook members often cannot recall every person they have accepted as “friends” or who have accepted them as “friends.”  In a recent case, a student, who had over one thousand Facebook “friends,” did not know he was a Facebook “friend” with another student he was accused of assaulting….

Third many Facebook “friends” are selected based on Facebook’s datamining technology rather than personal interactions.  Facebook data-mines its members’ current list of “friends,” uploaded contact lists from smart phones and computers, emails, names tagged in uploaded photographs, internet groups, networks such as schools and employers, and other publicly or privately available information.  This information is analyzed by proprietary algorithms that predict associations. Facebook then suggests there “People You May Know” as potential “friends.”

This is a thoughtful and sensible opinion, and the pervasive use of scare quotes around the term “friend” is a telling indictment of how distant our human relationships have grown in an age of social media.

Frost on the Dying Art of Courtroom Illustration

Regular readers of this blog know that I am strong advocate of broadcasting courtroom proceedings.  But increasing use of cameras and live streaming may mean the death knell for vivid courtroom illustration.  Natasha Frost has a very interesting article at Atlas Obscura that looks at some of the history of this dying art.

Minnesota Supreme Court to begin live streaming oral arguments

On the heels of the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s first live broadcast of an oral argument last week, the Minnesota Supreme Court has announced that it will begin live streaming its own oral arguments next week.  The first live streamed case will involve a dispute between Governor Mark Dayton and the state legislature.

In a statement, Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea said the court is “committed to maintaining the public’s trust in our Court, and ensuring the openness and accessibility of our public proceedings.”

“By livestreaming our oral arguments, we hope to give more Minnesotans the opportunity to see their highest Court in action, and to learn more about how our Court considers and decides the important legal matters that come before us,” she said.

More reaction to the Ohio courthouse shooting

More reaction today to the shooting of Judge Joseph Bruzzese on the steps of a Steubenville, Ohio courthouse on Monday morning:

Fox News: Under Siege, More Judges Choose to Arm Themselves for Protection.  This article contains some useful discussion from the outstanding researcher Bill Raftery of the National Center for State Courts.

WKBN: ‘We should carry guns,’ local judge says following Steubenville shooting.

WTOV: Judge was presiding over shooter’s civil litigation against housing authority.

And semi-relatedly, a 36-year-old Tennessee man has been charged with sending a letter to a local judge, threatening to kill him.

Ohio judge shot on courthouse steps; returns fire; assailant killed

Yesterday morning, Judge Joseph Bruzzese of the Jefferson County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas was shot in the chest at near point-blank range as he prepared to enter the courthouse in Steubenville, Ohio. Judge Bruzzese was rushed by helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital, and it appears that he will survive. Remarkably, the judge was armed and returned fire. A local probation officer was also at the scene and also fired at the perpetrator, who was killed. Authorities surmise that had the probation officer not been present, the suspect would have continued firing until Judge Bruzzese was dead.

The suspect was identified as Nathaniel Richmond, whose son was convicted in the same court for raping a 16-year-old girl in 2012. But the motivation for the shooting is unclear.  Judge Bruzzese apparently had nothing at all to do with the younger Richmond’s case, although he is overseeing a separate case in which the elder Richmond is the plaintiff.

A sad and strange story, which could have been much worse if not for some quick thinking by the probation officer.  Wishing Judge Bruzzese a speedy and full recovery.