Retired judges form group to defend judiciary and educate public

Retired California judges have been organizing over the past few weeks to form a new rapid response and educational group to defend unfairly criticized sitting judges and educate the public on the duties and limits of the judiciary.

The first in-person meeting of the Retired Judges Initiative will take place in September during the California Judges Association (CJA) conference in Pasadena. The three co-chairs of the initiative hope to interest hundreds of judges in the project to rapidly defend attacked sitting judges and also educate jurors, the public, and the press on the duties and limits of the judiciary.

"We think we are an underutilized resource and we want to participate," retired Santa Barbara County judge George Eskin said in an interview Thursday. "We hope to be a reservoir of talent of experienced judges who've been retired who can carry forward the message of the Judicial Fairness Coalition."

The initiative grew out of the CJA Judicial Fairness Coalition when it became clear that canon restrictions might apply to active judicial officers publicly defending their colleagues' decisions, retired San Bernardino County judge John Pacheco explained in an interview Thursday.

"A recent clarification to the canons says that if a judge gets attacked personally the judge can speak out, but only during an election time. So, they're still muzzled, so to speak, so we came up with the idea of forming the Retired Judges Initiative," he said.

"As retired judges, we can speak out and no one is going to get reprimanded."

The group with three co-chairs was formed during the past month by Eskin; Pacheco, now a Signature Resolution neutral; and retired San Francisco County judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos, now with ADR Services Inc.

"We were all approached to co-chair and are all eager and happy to do so," said Bolanos, who retired in April. "This is a particularly urgent time to be taking on this issue, defending the judiciary and the rule of law.

"Right now, so many of our colleagues are coming under attack frankly for a number of different politically partisan reasons that are totally inappropriate and undermining our work as judges," she said. "As retired judges we're particularly positioned to speak out to defend sitting judges and their independence."

Eskin said more than 100 retired judges have expressed interest in joining.

Pacheco said the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law is ready to partner and share thoughts and stories. "It's barely taken off but it's going to blossom come Sept. 13 at the California Judges conference in Pasadena."

"We work with the Judicial Fairness Coalition, we're part of that team and also doing a lot of outreach, kind of blending in with ABOTA," Pacheco said. "We're all on the same page, defending judicial independence and trying to teach the younger generation and the media." Pacheco said.

"We are going to apply for a grant for some funding," he added. "We're just doing stuff out of our own pocket.

"The plan is to get one or two more judges from each county. Any time any judge in that county is unduly and unfairly attacked we will respond in kind, immediately, with the truth," Pacheco explained. "Don't get me wrong. Sometimes judges deserve to be reprimanded and that's what the Commission on Judicial Performance does."

Bolanos said. "We'll decide different leads in each county to help with rapid response for judges being criticized. We'll speak at town halls, organize town halls, greet and thank jurors, write articles and op ed pieces. Being an intermediary with the press is one of our functions."

Another plan is to have retired judges greet jurors and explain the judicial system to them rather than only court staff, Eskin said.