Magazine - News - ABA Journal

Cover Story

Judges in the Culture Wars Crossfire

Judges are feeling the heat in a year that has been marked by increasingly strident criticism of the judiciary.

After courts failed to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay vowed that judges would have “to answer for their behavior.” More recently, DeLay held forth at Justice Sunday II, a rally in Nashville, Tenn., led by prominent Christian conservative groups.

Citing recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions on abortion, obscenity and government support for religion, DeLay declared: “That’s not judicial independence. That’s ... judicial autocracy.”

Feature Section

Playing by the Rule of Law

Judge Omer Hadziomerovic wags his burning cigarette above an ashtray, which he does frequently to punctuate his skepticism.

Cases & Controversies

Judges are too political. they’re not political enough. They decide cases according to their personal agendas. They ignore moral values when applying traditional, often outdated legal concepts. They even apply the law of other countries, instead of U.S. law.

ABA Connection

Watch What You Say

By all accounts, Stevens Johnson syndrome is a terrible and often debilitating skin disease, described by victims as a slow burn from within. To make matters worse, the illness often is wrongly diagnosed.