COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION ADOPTS REPORT DECLARING THAT HOUSE AND SENATE RESOLUTIONS “IMPINGE ON THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

CONTACT: Anita Aboulafia (212) 267-6646, ext. 225 (phone) (212) 406-9252 (fax) aaboulafia@nycla.org

 

COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION ADOPTS REPORT DECLARING THAT HOUSE AND SENATE RESOLUTIONS

“IMPINGE ON THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY”

 

April 6, 2005 – NEW YORK, NY – The New York County Lawyers’ Association (NYCLA) has adopted a report commenting on United States House Resolution 97 and Senate Resolution 92, introduced in the 109th Congress, which deal with the use of foreign judgments, laws and pronouncements by the federal courts in interpreting the U. S. Constitution. The report notes the Resolutions inappropriately impinged on two important doctrines – judicial independence and the separation of powers.

 

Prepared by the NYCLA Committee on the Federal Courts, the Report expresses its “…strong concerns about the tenor and content of H. Res. 97 and S. Res. 92. Even as non-binding Resolutions, we believe that they have the potential to chill judicial independence and, if enacted, could serve as a justification for impeachment attempts based upon the contents of judges’ opinions…and undermine the delicate balance of powers enshrined in our Constitution.”

 

According to Norman L. Reimer, NYCLA President, “If there were ever a time in our nation’s history when the public should be vigilant about the independence of the judiciary, this is it. The survival of our democracy depends upon it.”

 

Barbara Moses, Chair of the Committee on the Federal Courts, added, “Judges, lawyers and legal scholars of all political stripes are increasingly concerned, as we should be, with a series of recent efforts to curtail judicial independence through legislation and threat of impeachment. Today’s report focuses on one of those efforts, which would tell federal judges what intellectual tools they should and should not use to interpret the U.S. Constitution. We will continue to monitor developments in this area and, if appropriate, speak up wherever we see threats to the independent court system that is one of the foundations of our constitutional democracy.”

 

The New York County Lawyers’ Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as the first major bar association in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or gender. Since its inception, NYCLA has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal developments and public policy.

 

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