NCJ Number
132981
Journal
Judicature Volume: 75 Issue: 1 Dated: (June-July 1991) Pages: 16-19
Date Published
1991
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The operation of judicial conduct organizations is shared from the perspective of work in the capacity of chairperson of the Illinois Courts Commission and experiences both as a judge and a lawyer.
Abstract
Judicial conduct organizations play a key role in the U.S. court system: they help ensure judicial integrity; they help maintain the independence of the judiciary; and they help prevent instances of greater misconduct in the future. Two emerging areas of interest to judicial conduct organizations are substance abuse and performance evaluations. When the problem of substance abuse has been viewed as a disease, the focus has been on rehabilitation rather than punitive measures. In dealing with judges who have substance abuse problems, there needs to be awareness that these individuals often may be rehabilitated and their functioning restored. It is hoped that performance evaluations, now being initiated as pilot projects in some 10 or 15 states, will enable judges to correct their conduct before problems become major.