Daily Briefs

 Anti-corruption panel to take place Jan. 16 at Masonic Temple

The Detroit Midwest Regional Anti-Corruption Seminar will take place Thursday, Jan. 16, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Detroit Masonic Temple, 500 Temple in Detroit. Among those speaking at the seminar will be U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, Eastern District of Michigan; Wayne State University Law School Professor Peter Henning; Butzel Long Partner David DuMouchel; and numerous national speakers. Cost is $25 for general admission  and $15 for government employees, in-house counsel, and law students.  To register online, visit http://bit.ly/anticorruptionseminar.

 

LAD to hold free outreach clinic on civil legal services Dec. 19

 
Legal Aid and Defender Association Inc. (LAD) will conduct a free outreach clinic on civil legal services for income-eligible residents of Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties, including the city of Detroit, from noon to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at the Oakland Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services (ACCESS), 6451 Schaefer Road in Dearborn. Attendees are asked to register before 2 p.m. as a LAD attorney will assist only those persons who have done so by that time. For additional information, contact LAD staff attorney Mayada Saroki at 313-967-5801.
 

ABOTA issues white paper showing nation’s courts are in peril

 
The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) recently released a white paper titled “Preserving a Fair, Impartial and Independent Judiciary.” The white paper addresses a rapid convergence of challenges that threaten to impair Americans’ right to justice.
 
ABOTA offers the white paper to examine why political and special interest interference, including the skyrocketing costs of judicial elections, is detrimental to the judicial process. The paper also addresses how the lack of judicial funding is impacting the efficient administration of justice. It concludes with key strategies to assure that the judiciary can perform its duty as a separate and equal branch of government.

“The principle of fair and impartial courts is designed to protect the system of justice and the rule of law, thus maintaining public trust and confidence in the courts,” said Michael T. Callahan, ABOTA national president. “America’s ability to allow juries to decide cases and judges to make rulings according to the rule of law — even if those decisions are politically unpopular or opposed by powerful interests — is the lifeblood of our democracy.”

Callahan added that over the years ABOTA has urged Congress to increase pay for justices, judges and their support staffs, and to change the procedures for adjusting future compensation.
“The key to judicial independence is avoiding improper influence on any court from the other two branches of government or from private or partisan interests,” he said.

A copy of the white paper, “Preserving a Fair, Impartial and Independent Judiciary,” is available at www.abota.org.

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