News & Updates

The ABA has created a task force to identify legal needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and to make recommendations to address them. Meanwhile, state and federal courts continue to rapidly respond to the impacts of the virus. 

The Conference of Chief Justices has established a new committee that will evaluate civil justice improvement efforts around the country and develop guidelines and best practices for civil litigation, as well as case-flow management. The National Center for State Courts has also undertaken a research project to inform the committee's work. IAALS looks forward to working alongside NCSC to support the efforts of the committee.

A Republican member of the house of representatives filed resolutions calling for the impeachment of the four sitting justices who joined the Varnum v. Brien decision, but no action has been taken. The other three justices who joined the unanimous ruling lost their retention bids in 2010.

As the whole country grapples with reopening, our federal courts continue their own efforts to respond in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent weeks, we are seeing some federal courthouses slowly expand in-person proceedings as the judiciary also explores reconstituting jury trials.

Another voice has joined a growing chorus calling for more openness in the selection and evaluation of Hawaii's state court judges. Critics of the lack of transparency make some valid points about the need to shine more light on these vital processes, particularly when we consider how other states address this issue.

Professor David Thomson gave a talk on outcomes reform in legal education on March 29, 2012, at a conference sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Law Teaching at Albany Law School. He shared some of his thoughts on the topic and his presentation…

Texas has recently completed an extensive review of their court operations and has proposed new recommendations for resuming jury trials during the pandemic, and is among numerous states and jurisdictions working to reinvent what jury trials look like, both in-person and virtual.

San Diego's "one-day divorce" pilot project, founded in March 2014, has already seen successes in its first few months. The program, implemented by the San Diego Superior Court, allows couples who meet its requirements to complete a simple divorce in just one day. The success of the program to-date has made some wonder whether it will spread to other jurisdictions.

Last week, we announced that we now recognize ETL Fellows for their contributions to legal education. Professor Benjamin Madison of Regent University School of Law is among our first six. This article by his school details his role in advancing legal education.

The pandemic’s disruption to the status quo brought with it a critical view of the bar exam, how it is administered, and whether it actually tests what it purports to. The status quo—and tinkering around its edges—is not good enough. It is time we had the courage and will to look beyond the assumptions that underpin the current bar exam and towards outcomes and purpose for a new era.

The latest round of proposed amendments published for comment appear to be just housekeeping measures, and therefore are not nearly as significant as the proposed amendments that were published for comment last August. These newest proposals include a clarifying amendment to Rule 4, removal of service by electronic means from the types of service for which three additional days are added to the time period under Rule 6, and a housekeeping amendment to Rule 82.

A New York Times commentary discussed the reforms recommended by the Michigan Judicial Selection Task Force, which included better disclosure requirements, open primaries, and campaign oversight committees. The piece closed by calling for replacing judicial elections with gubernatorial appointments based on merit and lamented that not all task force members supported such a reform.

The goal of any licensure process should be to make sure the public is protected from incompetence without serving as an artificial barrier to people entering the legal profession. Indeed, this is precisely what the bar exam purports to do. But does the bar exam actually do those things?

A new study from the American Constitution Society finds a correlation between the airing of TV ads in state supreme court races and justices' decisions in criminal cases. According to the study, the more ads that air in a state, the more likely justices on the state's high court are to vote against criminal defendants. The study also documents the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

Yesterday, the National Law Journal featured a special report on law school innovators, including the Georgetown University Law Center; Luke Bierman, Associate Dean for Experiential Education and Distinguished Professor of Practice of Law at Northeastern University School of Law; and Robert J. Rhee, a professor who co-authored “The Law School Firm."

Our final two Paths to Justice events, focused on racial justice, brought together diverse perspectives and partners to engage in a dialogue around inequities in our civil justice system and how it relates to public trust and confidence. IAALS has published two issue papers highlighting outcomes and key takeaways for the paths forward.

Since opening in September 2013, the University of Denver’s Resource Center for Separating and Divorcing Families has served as an invaluable resource not only for participating families, but also for the graduate students who have an opportunity to work within their field and gain experience. In January’s Family Court Review, students and supervisors share their perspectives on the experience.

The newly-formed Oklahoma Civil Justice Council is developing a judicial rating system that will rate court of civil appeals and supreme court judges on a scale of zero to 100, on the basis of their support for expanding business liabilities. The Council and its rating system are being backed by the State Chamber of Oklahoma and local Chamber affiliates. 

The Yale Law Journal recently featured the growing debate on regulatory reform. In part two of a two-part series, we recap Ralph Baxter's arguments that reforms are necessary to meaningfully address the access to justice crisis.

In April, over half of Wisconsin voters approved a proposed constitutional amendment that will allow the members of the state supreme court to select its chief justice, rather than the chief justice being determined by seniority.