Judicial Independence: Understanding the Courts and the Constitution

The League of Women Voters/Tallahassee responded to an opportunity to research the concerns of Florida's judiciary following the disrupted general election of 2000. It received a grant for the Judicial Independence Project, a project supported by a grant from the Program on Law and Society of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author Pitts, Annette Boyd
Format Web Resource
LanguageEnglish
Published Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc 2002
Subjects
Citizenship Education
Court Judges
Courts
Florida
Law Related Education
Role Playing
Secondary Education
Social Studies
United States Constitution
Florida
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Summary:The League of Women Voters/Tallahassee responded to an opportunity to research the concerns of Florida's judiciary following the disrupted general election of 2000. It received a grant for the Judicial Independence Project, a project supported by a grant from the Program on Law and Society of the Open Society Institute, from the League of Women Voters Education Fund in early 2001. This guide, developed from materials gathered and developed through the project, detailed instructions and materials designed for learning environments such as secondary classrooms, civic meetings, and town hall forums. It is intended to help participants understand the role of the courts and the concept of judicial independence. The guide's lesson format has been altered to make the activities more user-friendly for multiple audiences. The activities were designed to help Florida students and adults experience the role of Florida judges, understand the judicial decision-making process, explore judicial accountability and discipline, and determine threats to judicial independence. The guide is divided into the following sections: "Introduction" (M. Jones); "Foreword" (A. B. Pitts); "Keeping the Judiciary Strong" (J. Hatchett); "Judicial Independence in United States Government" (J. Patrick); "Judicial Independence Resources and Websites"; "Short Takes"; "The Invaders: A Constitutional Rights Activity"; "The Florida Courts and the Judiciary: A Constitutional Scavenger Hunt"; "An Independent Judiciary"; "Judicial Decisionmaking and the Constitution"; "Judicial Discipline and Accountability"; "Should Judges Be Elected or Appointed through a Merit Selection Process?"; and "Town Hall Forum: Judicial Independence." Appended are: "Code of Judicial Conduct"; "Florida Courts"; "Florida Trial Court"; "Florida Supreme Court"; "United States Federal Courts"; "Federal and State Judges Chart." (BT)