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August 2009 - Posts
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A formal code of conduct forbids law clerks from discussing their job duties, a code that some justices have interpreted to extend beyond the clerkship itself. Yet on those few rare occasions when the justices discuss their staffs, they vigorously (if not dismissively) deny that their clerks wield any influence over the decision-making process. Thus we are left with a mystery: If clerks do not exercise undue influence, then why all the fuss and secrecy over their job duties? Such unnecessary concealment only erodes the public's confidence in its government institutions.
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Some might think it pedestrian to lament that trials are being waylaid by interactive technology in courtrooms. Yet this phenomenon has rivaled swine flu mania among the legal bar with good reason. The use of electronic devices like cellphones and BlackBerrys by jurors and witnesses, in a manner that disrupts and taints court proceedings to the level that presiding judges are forced to declare a mistrial, is serious injustice indeed.
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