Federal Judges and the Judicial Branch: Their Independence and Accountability (original) (raw)

I. INTRODUCTION This issue of the Mercer Law Review was stimulated in part by a concern expressed by some federal judges that federal judicial independence is at risk. For example, the Committee on the Judicial Branch of the United States Judicial Conference expressed its hope that the symposium and other efforts will "address the concerns of judges about the protections afforded to them individually and to the Judiciary as an institution."' The Committee emphasized that those concerns "extend beyond the salary and tenure guarantees of the Constitution."' To