We, the undersigned hereby express our solidarity in support of the independence of our Nation’s judges, juries and courts. While the Constitution guarantees the right to disagree with a decision of a jury or judge, physical attacks, personal threats, demeaning epithets and false and misleading accusations create an atmosphere of contempt and disrespect which is unacceptable in a constitutional democracy. We all need to fear a day when our legal rights are determined by public opinion. The right to be judged by an independent judge or jury must be protected.
 






 

 BEVERLY HILLS BAR ASSOCIATION
PROPOSAL FOR A NATIONAL STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE

Dear Bar Leader,

Premise
Bar associations and other legal groups, nationwide, must help the public recognize that the verbal and physical attacks on our nation’s judges and jurors, which have escalated at alarming rates, jeopardize the independence of the judiciary and threaten the nation’s democratic process - specifically its system of checks and balances. In a stand of solidarity with the judiciary, the Beverly Hills Bar Association requests that you join in an unprecedented national action.

Following is a statement in favor of judicial independence which we are asking bar associations and other legal groups from around the country to join together to sign encouraging everyone in our country to preserve judicial independence.
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Press Conference Elements
To publicize this message, the BHBA will coordinate the release of the statement at a press conference, to be arranged. The press conference will emphasize the unprecedented action of the nation’s legal community banding together as never before in support of judicial independence. At the press conference, we will give the strong visual impact of “unfurling” the document (or multiple copies of the document) containing the statement signed by major legal institutions in the nation. Selected speakers representing the legal community will discuss the vital need to support an independent judiciary and why such a unification of the legal community on this matter is necessary at this time. The location of the press conference will be at a site tied to the judiciary, including the steps of the Supreme Court, the steps of Congress, a statue of John Marshall, the Washington Monument, etc.

This is a huge undertaking and we hope you will join us by signing on to this statement. Please email your response to JudicialIndependence@bhba.org  We will attach the name of your organization, your name and title to the statement below. For more information and to see the names of other participating organizations, please go to http://www.bhba.org/Judicial.htm


Sincerely,

Kenneth G. Petrulis
President, Beverly Hills Bar Association
310-601-2422
 

We, the undersigned hereby express our solidarity in support of the independence of our Nation’s judges, juries and courts. While the Constitution guarantees the right to disagree with a decision of a jury or judge, physical attacks, personal threats, demeaning epithets and false and misleading accusations, create an atmosphere of contempt and disrespect which is unacceptable in a constitutional democracy. We all need to fear a day when our legal rights are determined by public opinion. The right to be judged by an independent judge or jury must be protected.
 
  Alameda County Bar Association
American Immigration Lawyers Association - San Diego Chapter
American Judicature Society
Bench Bar Coalition of California
Beverly Hills Bar Association
California Association of Black Lawyers
Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles
Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations
Consumer Attorneys of San Diego
Lee County Bar Association
Long Beach Bar Association
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Maryland State Bar Association
Mexican American Bar Association
Public Counsel
San Diego County Bar Association
San Fernando Valley Bar Association
Santa Clara County Bar Association
South Asian Bar Association of Northern California
South Bay Bar Association
The Bar Association of San Francisco
The State Bar of Wisconsin
Washoe County Bar Association


To contact the Beverly Hills Bar Association

300 South Beverly Drive, Suite 201
P.O. Box 7277
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
(310) 601-BHBA - Fax (310) 601-2423

© 2006 Beverly Hills Bar Association.
  All Rights Reserved
This page was last updated on 11/28/05