On July 28, 2025, Lawyers Defending American Democracy (LDAD), its Maryland chapter (MD-LDAD), the Lawyers Society for the Rule of Law Institute (SRLI), and retired Judge J. Michael Luttig filed an amicus curiae brief in support of federal judges targeted by a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice. The case challenges a Standing …
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a formal complaint against District Judge James Boasberg, accusing him of misconduct and demanding his removal from a key deportation case. The complaint stems from Boasberg’s reported private remarks expressing concern that the Trump administration might ignore court rulings—comments DOJ officials claim undermine public trust in the judiciary. The …
In a lecture at NALSAR University, Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran emphasized the need for a transparent and constitutionally grounded mechanism for removing judges in India to ensure a balance between judicial independence and accountability. Drawing on his experience with the Justice V. Ramaswami impeachment case—the country’s first attempted judicial removal—he warned against the judiciary’s growing …
In a speech at the Ninth Circuit’s judicial conference, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan expressed strong concerns about the Court’s increasing reliance on the “shadow docket” — emergency rulings issued without full briefing, oral arguments, or detailed explanation. She urged caution, noting that such untransparent decisions can undermine lower courts and judicial accountability. Kagan’s …
Melissa Crouch, “Judicial Loyalty to the Military in Authoritarian Regimes: How the Courts Are Militarized in Myanmar.” Law & Social Inquiry, vol. 48, no. 2 (2023): 632–59. Summary: While scholars have considered the role of courts in authoritarian regimes generally, less attention has been paid to judicial-military relations. In this article Crouch considers how courts …
David Landau and Rosalind Dixon, “Abusive Judicial Review: Courts Against Democracy.” UC Davis Law Review, vol. 53, no. 3 (2020): 1313-1387. Summary: Both in the United States and around the world, courts are generally conceptualized as the last line of defense for the liberal democratic constitutional order. But this Article shows that it is not …
Howard Liu., Su, Ching-Hsuan Su., & Yi-Ting Wang, “The Law or the Career? Autocratic Judiciaries, Strategic Sentencing, and Political Repression.” Comparative Political Studies, https://doi.org/10.1177/00104140241290212, (2024) Summary: Why do judges sometimes act against autocrats’ will, even without judicial independence and tenure security? Contrary to the theory of strategic defection under weak governments, this behavior can also …
Hans Petter Graver, “Judicial Independence Under Authoritarian Rule: An Institutional Approach to the Legal Tradition of the West.” Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, vol. 10, no. 2 (2018): 317-339. Summary: The autonomy of legal institutions is put on the most severe test when they are under attack by other organs of the state. …
Rachel Ellett, Pathways to Judicial Power in Transitional States: Perspectives from African Courts (1st ed.). London: Routledge, 2013. Summary: This book examines the complex relationship that exists between the construction of judicial power, and the institutional characteristics of the courts and their regime setting. It examines the intriguing connection between the construction of judicial power …
Charles Fombad. “The Judiciaries of Africa at a Crossroads: Can they Counter the Wave of Authoritarian Resurgence?”, In Judicial Independence in Transitional Democracies. Edited by Nauman Reayat, Rhona K. M. Smith, Moohyung Cho, pp. 12-37. London: Routledge, 2024. Summary:Much progress was made during the post-1990 constitutional reforms in Africa to make courts more independent and …