The Role of Politics and the Rule of Law: Judicial Independence in the 21st Century

Stanford Law School will host three seated judges from the nation's highest courts to discuss judicial activism within weeks of the 2004 presidential election—a race that will determine the future political balance of the U.S. Supreme Court, appointments to the federal judiciary, and the fate of landmark decisions on constitutional rights that have been deemed by critics as “legislated from the bench,” such as a woman's right to abortion.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will join California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judge Pamela Rymer in a panel discussion moderated by Stanford Law School Dean Larry Kramer.

The judges will specifically address judicial activism— the myth or reality of the exercise of moral or political authority within an independent judiciary. They'll answer questions such as: Are judges too independent? Do they “legislate from the bench”? What is the court's role in government when government cannot be separated from politics? And how should U.S. courts influence the courts of other nations?