A book published by recently-retired Judge Posner that includes copies of bench memoranda, draft opinions, and internal emails has caused some of his former colleagues to cry foul, raising ethical questions along the way.
The pointedly-titled book, Reforming the Federal Judiciary: My Former Court Needs to Overhaul Its Staff Attorney Program and Begin Televising Its Oral Arguments, details Posner’s views on improving the judicial process. Posner gives special attention to the issue that prompted his retirement – how the court treats pro se litigants. According to Judge Posner, pro se litigants deserve a better shake. To help ensure this, Judge Posner requested to review the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal’s staff attorney memorandums evaluating pro se litigant cases before these documents were circulated to other 7th Circuit judges. After this request was denied, Judge Posner abruptly resigned.
Chief Judge Diane Wood, the subject of much criticism in the book, wrote in an email to Law360 “[t]he rest of the judges on the court do not share [Posner’s] views. To the contrary, they (and I) hold our Staff Attorney’s office in the highest regard and enjoy working with these talented and committed young lawyers. As for the pro se litigants, who represent more than 60 percent of our docket, both the staff attorneys and the judges work very hard to understand exactly what the person is attempting to say and to see what we can and should do about the case, consistently (of course) with the law.”
After receiving an advanced copy of the book, Chief Judge Wood contacted a Judicial Conference’s conduct committee about the ethics of releasing internal communications. According to an email Judge Wood sent to Judge Posner, the Committee determined that publishing these materials would be an ethics violation. Judge Posner responded by publishing this email in his book as well.
While some believe that Posner’s book is an important dialogue on the treatment of pro se litigants, others are calling it a “baffling, disjointed blow-by-blow” of Posner’s disagreements with Judge Wood.
Read the full article discussing Judge Posner’s book and decide for yourself here.
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