What do we mean when we talk about judicial independence?

Committee Description:

The California Judges Association launched the Judicial Fairness Coalition (JFC) on August 1, 2018 as a result of the overwhelming support in the judicial and legal communities to promptly and strategically respond to unfair criticism and false and misleading information against justices, judges and the judiciary and stand together to affirm the independence of the judiciary. The JFC is a statewide coalition of active and retired justices and judges, bar associations and their leaders, and law school deans and professors.

The JFC is dedicated to civic education and community outreach and provides the public with information to help them better understand legal issues related to a specific situation, including the role of judges, the rule of law, the ethical restrictions and responsibilities placed on judges, judicial selection and elections, qualifications that candidates should possess for judicial office, and judicial independence.

Resources:

The JFC has developed a number of resources to help educate the voting public about the importance of judicial independence. Additionally, statewide regional resource guides are available which contain a collection of community, legal and media related entities that judicial officers might want to call upon to ask for assistance when facing a challenge. Please choose the guide for your geographic region: