'The relevance of courts is at risk'

North Carolina legal leaders, joined by law and political science professors who have studied the American judiciary, warned of eroding public trust in the courts – and what might be done to reverse that erosion – in a November symposium hosted by the Elon Law Review.

The program on Nov. 4, 2016, brought more than 120 people to Elon University School of Law’s downtown Greensboro campus to learn about the forces shaping Americans’ views of the judiciary in the lead-up to a national election that will likely shape federal and state courts for a generation.

And as Elon Law Dean Luke Bierman noted in his opening remarks, an ongoing assault on American institutions, and the judiciary in particular, inhibits positive interaction required of citizens in a democratic republic. Lawyers and law students must protect courts at a time when even provable “facts” are no longer accepted as true.

“Courts are the bastion of facts,” he said. “If facts are denigrated and debased, courts become irrelevant.”

The full program:

“The Judicial System’s Role in A Contemporary American Society”
Moderated by Eric Fink, Associate Professor of Law, Elon University School of Law
Panelists
Steve Friedland, Associate Dean for Innovations in Engaged Learning and Professor of Law, Elon University School of Law
The Hon. Paul Newby, Associate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court
Justin Wedeking, Associate Professor, University of Kentucky

“The Judicial System’s Role in Voting Rights”
Moderated by Patricia Perkins, Assistant Professor of Law, Elon University School of Law
Panelists
Michael Crowell, Retired Partner, Tharrington Smith, LLP; Solo Practitioner
Clarke Dummit, Founder and Partner, Dummit Fradin
The Hon. Robert Hunter, Judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals
Steven Walker, General Counsel & Policy Advisor to North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest

“Judicial Enforcement, Judicial Restraint, and Judicial Activism”
Moderated by Scott Gaylord, Professor of Law, Elon University School of Law
Panelists
Evan Bernick, Assistant Director, Center for Judicial Engagement at the Institute for Justice
Michael Gerhardt, Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law, University
of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Amos Jones, Associate Professor, Campbell University School of Law
William Marshall, Kenan Professor of Law, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Elon Law Professor Catherine Ross Dunham delivered closing remarks.

“This year’s symposium is timely for many reasons,” said Sean McLeod L’17, Elon Law Review’s symposium co-editor with Jonathan Holt L’17. “With the passing of Antonin Scalia during a presidential election year, candidates are campaigning in part on the selection of a new Supreme Court justice. The Court is supposed to be nonpartisan, but it has been one of the most hotly debated issues this year and has been a decision-making factor for some voters.”

Access to voting has also been important, McLeod said. In Virginia, the governor has been pardoned inmates to allow them to vote. In North Carolina, photo identification at the polls is under litigation. Then there is the selection of judges in North Carolina.

“Most people are unaware of the differences in the election of judges and how that process works,” McLeod said. “As attorneys, this is very important for us to understand the policies and bureaucracy behind it.”

The symposium was offered free of charge and lawyers were eligible for CLE credit. Information about the Elon Law Review, including access to prior issues, is available here.