In her essay, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor shares her thoughts on the importance of a fair, impartial and independent judiciary at the national, state and local levels. She notes that close to 98 percent of the litigation in this country takes place in state courts, and most states select or retain their judges through partisan or non-partisan elections. Furthermore, in many states, judicial elections have turned into expensive, partisan political campaigns. The upcoming 2008 elections of state supreme court judges in several states is of grave concern in this regard. Justice O’Connor admits that it will not be easy to change the systems in those states where judges are elected, but she offers some steps that might be taken to improve the systems. Published in 2008.

Published in 2007.

The League of Women Voters of Union Area, New Jersey recently celebrated Constitution Day by having the Brennan Center for Justice's Adam Skaggs. Published in 2009.

The League of Women Voters of Arizona partnered with KAET-8 PBS to create a video discussing two opposing views on merit-selection in Arizona. Click here to watch the video. Published in 2009.

Banquet Speaker for the 2008 LWVUS Convention. Published in 2008.

Safeguarding U.S. Democracy: Promoting an Independent Judiciary awarded the League of Women Voters of Montana a grant to bring Montana Supreme Court Justice Patricia Cotter to their State Convention on May 3, 2008. Published in 2008.

This NPR podcast discusses the recent economic downturn and how the state budget cuts are effecting courts. Published in 2008.