On December 31, 2009 the work of the three year Sandra Day O’Connor Project at Georgetown Law School wrapped up.

Conferences on judicial independence took place in each year 2006-2009. Work included:

Convenings

2006 Conference Fair and Independent Courts, A Conference on the State of the Judiciary, co-sponsored by the American Law Institute. Conference features remarks by Associate Justice Retired Sandra Day O’Connor and Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Conference proceedings published in 95 GEO. L. REV. (2007). A DVD of Conference Proceedings is available. Please contact Mary Ann Dodd, The Aspen Institute, mary.ann.dodd@aspeninst.org, (410) 820-5433 to order.

2007 Conference The Debate Over Judicial Elections and State Court Judicial Selection, co-sponsored by the National Center for State Courts. Conference Keynote Remarks by Hon. Thomas R. Phillips, Retired Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Texas and closing remarks by Justice O’Connor. Conference proceedings published in 21 GEO. J. LEGAL ETHICS (2008). A DVD of Conference Proceedings is available. Please contact Mary Ann Dodd, The Aspen Institute, mary.ann.dodd@aspeninst.org, (410) 820-5433 to order.

2008 Conference Our Courts and Corporate Citizenship, Keynote Remarks by Hon. Alan Greenspan, closing remarks by Justice O’Connor. A DVD of Conference Proceedings is available. Please contact. Please contact Mary Ann Dodd, The Aspen Institute, mary.ann.dodd@aspeninst.org, (410) 820-5433 to order.

2009 Conference Striking the Balance: Fair and Independent Courts in a New Era, co-sponsored by the Aspen Institute, Keynote Remarks by Hon. Elena Kagan, Solicitor General of the United States, additional remarks by Associate Justice David Souter and by Justice O’Connor. Remarks by Justice O’Connor and Justice Souter, upcoming, Georgetown Law Review. A DVD of Conference Proceedings is available. Please contact Please contact Mary Ann Dodd, The Aspen Institute, mary.ann.dodd@aspeninst.org, (410) 820-5433 to order. Remarks by Solicitor General Kagan are available online at http://www.aspeninstitute.org/video/georgetown-university-law-center-presents-state-judiciary-elena-kagan.

January 26, 2010 Caperton v. Massey Coal/ Citizen’s United (the “Hilary Film”) What Effect Will Two Leading Supreme Court Cases Have on State Courts? Co-sponsored by Georgetown Law and the Aspen Institute, webcast available at www.aspeninst.org.

Publications

The Sandra Day O’Connor Project partnered with the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for a special issue of Daedalus, Fall 2008, and “On Judicial Independence”. Contact http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/daed

Report of Corporate Task Force, Hon. Randy Holland, Task Force Chair, 2009. Copies available through Mary Ann Dodd, The Aspen Institute, mary.ann.dodd@aspeninst.org, (410) 820-5433 to order.

An article on state court judicial elections and economic efficiency by Meryl Chertoff, Director of the Sandra Day O’Connor Project will appear in Vol. 42, No. 1, McGeorge Law Journal (2010)

Justice O’Connor on Judicial Independence

Sandra Day O’Connor, 2009 Nelson Lecture, http://law.missouri.edu/lawreview/docs/74-3/OConnor.pdf

http://www.abanow.org/2009/05/aba-presidential-summit-justice-is-the-business-of-government-the-critical-role-of-fair-and-impartial-state-courts/

http://www.law.nyu.edu/news/OCONNOR_JUDICIAL_INDEPENDENCE

http://law.du.edu/documents/denver-university-law-review/v86_i1_oconnor.pdf

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110009019

http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2008/edition_02-24-2008/Courts_O_Connor

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/opinion/23oconnor.html?scp=1&sq=sandra%20day%20&st=cse

For More Information
You can learn more about judicial independence at these websites:

The American Bar Association- http://www.abanet.org/judind

The American Judicature Society - http://www.ajs.org/

The Aspen Institute, Justice and Society Program - http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/justice-society

Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System - http://www.du.edu/legalinstitute/judicial_selection.html

Justice at Stake - http://www.justiceatstake.org

National Center for State Courts - http://www.ncsconline.org/D_Research/gaveltogavel

For information on Justice O’Connor’s efforts to reinvigorate civics education in America, go to www.icivics.org. iCivics includes interactive activities for classroom and out-of-classroom learning, and information for parents, teachers, and administrators.

After June 30, 2010, contact Meryl Chertoff, former Director of the Sandra Day O’Connor Project on the State of the Judiciary at Georgetown Law, at The Justice and Society Program, The Aspen Institute, meryl.chertoff@aspeninst.org, 202-736-5849.

• For more information, please contact Meryl Chertoff.