Note:
Justice Talking's grant funding expired in 2008 and the
project has been closed. This website is an archive of
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Note: Justice Talking ceased production on June 30
of 2008. Link information on this site is not maintained and is provided for historical interest only.
Although correct when posted, The Annenberg Public Policy Center makes no claim as the the accuracy or
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Forty states choose judges for state and local positions through elections. Defenders of the system argue that it is an important extension of our democratic values, allowing communities themselves to choose those who will dispense justice in their areas. Opponents say the system is a sham. ### They claim that judicial elections are fraught with problems from the free speech restrictions barring candidates from talking about specific issues or cases, to the campaign funds raised from lawyers whom they will face in court. Do judicial elections put judges in place that reflect local, community values or do they undermine judicial independence?
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Alfred P. Carlton Jr.
is the President-elect of the American Bar Association. As a partner with Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Carlton has had a long career in general corporate law with an emphasis on regulated industries, corporate and public finance, and financial and nonprofit institutions. Carlton has served in a number of positions with the ABA, including the chair of the policy-making House of Delegates, and the Standing Committee on Judicial Independence where he worked to promote reform of judicial elections. Carlton has served as secretary and general counsel to Bancshares of North Carolina, later acquired by Bank of America, and as counsel to the North Carolina Bankers Association. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and formerly was adjunct professor of law at the Campbell University School of Law.
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James Wootton
is president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform where he advocates significant changes in the civil justice system that are designed to reduce frivolous, wasteful and excessive litigation. Before joining the Chamber Institute, Mr. Wootton was president of The Safe Streets Alliance, a public charity dedicated to education about crime and the Safe Streets Coalition, a public advocacy group with over 130,000 members. Mr. Wootton was Deputy Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention during the Reagan Administration where he helped create the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime at the FBI Academy, and the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Program. In 1986 Mr. Wootton was appointed to the Legal Services Corporation as Director of Policy, Communications and Legislative Affairs, and was later named Counselor to the President.
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"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as judge in the field of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."
— Albert Einstein
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Justice Talking’s last broadcast & podcast was June 30, 2008. |
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