Judges push for court education

Schoolteachers attended a seminar at the state Capitol.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some of Pennsylvania’s most prominent judges urged teachers to improve civics education and student understanding of the importance of an independent judiciary.

Several dozen schoolteachers attended a daylong seminar Wednesday at the state Capitol that was designed to increase their knowledge of the state and federal court systems. It was part of an effort by the courts to counter cynicism that many fear has corroded public confidence in the judicial branch.

The program included basic instruction in court issues, a mock Supreme Court argument and a discussion by several judges on how they decide criminal and civil cases.

“Our system of justice, our judiciary is a jewel in the world, and something we need to pay attention to in instructing students,” said U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III, a member of the state’s 11-member Judicial Independence Commission.

Jones presided over the 2005 trial that stopped the teaching of “intelligent design” at a Dover, Pa., high school, a decision that drew both high praise and bitter criticism. He warned of movements to have judges arrested for unpopular rulings or to remove the immunity that judges have traditionally enjoyed from being sued over decisions.

Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille called a strong and independent court system the guardian of the nation’s freedoms.

“The price of freedom is not vigilance alone. The price of freedom is education,” Castille told the teachers.

Pennsylvania First Lady Marjorie O. Rendell, a federal appeals judge and longtime advocate of civics education, said heightened interest in the recent presidential election among young people is providing an opportunity for teachers.

The court system’s independence is not designed for judges to be able to rule however they want, she said.

“It’s independent to make the right rulings, which may be tough and may seem unfair in certain situations,” she said. “It’s bottomed on the rule of law and the stability of our government.”

The program was sponsored by the state Supreme Court and the Pennsylvania Coalition for Representative Democracy, with support from the Judicial Independence Commission, the National Constitution Center, the state Department of Education and the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

The state Supreme Court established the Judicial Independence Commission, which first met in October 2005, three months after passage of an unpopular law that granted pay raises to judges, lawmakers and other high-ranking state government officials.

The commission later issued a statement supporting the court’s ruling to uphold the higher pay for judges after the General Assembly repealed the law in the face of widespread public antipathy.

There is a movement to replace Pennsylvania’s system of electing judge with a merit-based selection process, an effort that has grown in recent years as the amount of campaign money being raised by statewide judicial candidates has grown substantially.