First Page
238
Date Created
8-2019
Publisher
St. Mary's University School of Law
Editor
Katherine Zampas
Last Page
258
Abstract
As the preamble to the Model Code of Judicial Conduct indicates, traditional notions of judicial ethics operate within a rule of law paradigm, which posits that the “three I’s” of judicial ethics—independence, impartiality, and integrity—enable judges to uphold the law. In recent decades, however, social science, public opinion, and political commentary suggest that appointed judges abuse their independence by disregarding the law and issuing rulings in accord with their biases and other extralegal impulses, while elected judges disregard the law and issue rulings popular with voters, all of which calls the future of the three I’s and judicial ethics itself into question. The time has come to rethink the role of judicial ethics in light of a new legal culture paradigm that better accommodates changing conceptions of the judicial role.
Recommended Citation
Charles G. Geyh,
Judicial Ethics: A New Paradigm for a New Era,
9
St. Mary's J. on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
238
(2019).
Available at:
https://commons.stmarytx.edu/lmej/vol9/iss2/2
Included in
Courts Commons, Judges Commons, Law and Society Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons, Legal Profession Commons, Legal Remedies Commons
