NFOJA_Campaign 2012

Embracing The Political Science of Judicial Reform:

Embracing The Political Science of Judicial Reform Presented by the National Forum On Judicial Accountability (NFOJA) The Official Network of Community Forums on Judicial Accountability © 2011 National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Welcome

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National Forum On Judicial Accountability (NFOJA) The Official Network of Community Forums on Judicial Accountability NFOJA seeks to vest randomly selected, trained, and rotating panels of private citizens with responsibility for state judicial disciplinary processes. © 2011 National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Keep It Simple Stupid:

K eep I t S imple S tupid Email: forum@njcdlp.org Internet: http://50states.ning.com/ 3

Keep It Successful S . . . :

K eep I t S uccessful S . . . Political science involves the study of politics, political systems, and political behavior. Email: forum@njcdlp.org Internet: http://50states.ning.com/ 4

What is your obstacle?:

lack of affordable, competent, trustworthy legal advice, guidance, and / or representation; the resistance of a judge or judges; and / or resistance by the judiciary. Email: forum@njcdlp.org Internet: http://50states.ning.com/ What is your obstacle? 5

What is your obstacle?:

There are millions of Americans in criminal and family law disputes without affordable, competent, and trustworthy legal representation. Email: forum@njcdlp.org Internet: http://50states.ning.com/ What is your obstacle? 6

What is your obstacle?:

The odds against winning discrimination cases have some employee lawyers reluctant even to try. ‘We will no longer take individual employment-discrimination cases, because there’s such a high likelihood of losing,’ New York plaintiffs’ attorney Joe Whatley Jr. says. Job-discrimination case filings declined by 40% from 1999 to 2007, federal court records show. Koppel, Nathan. “Job-Discrimination Cases Tend To Fare Poorly in Federal Court”, The Wall Street Journal (19 February 2011). Email: forum@njcdlp.org Internet: http://50states.ning.com/ What is your obstacle? 7

Meet . . . Super Lawyer::

Affordable, Competent, T rustworthy, Persistent, and High Profile. Meet . . . Super Lawyer: 8 Group Exercise

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Community Forum On Judicial Accountability Welcome And Overview Presented by the National Forum On Judicial Accountability (NFOJA) The Official Network of Community Forums On Judicial Accountability 9

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Community Forum On Judicial Accountability 10

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Community Forum On Judicial Accountability Thank you for coming! 11

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Community Forum On Judicial Accountability What do you want people to learn? What is NFOJA to you? 12

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Email: forum@njcdlp.org Internet: http://50states.ning.com/ 13 Affordable Manageable Constitutional Best Protect Rule of Law

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National and State Strategic Management Board; Key officials and Designated Spokespeople; NFOJA State Mentors and Local Compliance Officers; SCOJA Legislation Workshops; Volunteer Management. N F O J A 14

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Email: forum@njcdlp.org Internet: http://50states.ning.com/ 15

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CAREER OPPORTUNITY Associate Director of Legislative Communications [COMM-33] American Civil Liberties Union Communications Department, Washington, D.C. . . . The ideal candidate must have experience in integrative approaches to formulate and execute communications strategies. This requires solid expertise in media relations, internet communications, advocacy issues, public relations and event planning. The position also requires in-depth knowledge of the legislative process and how the U.S. Congress and executive branch of government operate. We are seeking candidates who have established professional relationships with journalists and bloggers who cover Capitol Hill, the executive branch and politics in general. Candidates must be exceptionally skilled at pitching and placing stories and must possess a fine-tuned sense of “what sells” in the news business. Working knowledge of strategic communications, very strong writing and editing skills, and experience in using public opinion research to frame issues and develop messages is required. . . . 16

McGrath, Conor (2004) "Grass Roots Lobbying: Marketing Politics and Policy Beyond The Beltway", paper delivered to the conference on "Elections on the Horizon: Marketing Politics to the Electorate in the USA and UK", British Library.:

McGrath, Conor (2004) "Grass Roots Lobbying: Marketing Politics and Policy Beyond The Beltway", paper delivered to the conference on "Elections on the Horizon: Marketing Politics to the Electorate in the USA and UK", British Library. "(T)he margin of victory overall in congressional elections has been progressively diminishing . . . and suggests that as a result, 'increasing attention [by Members of Congress] to the interests of even small groups of organised voters will be necessary to preserve shrinking margins of vote share'." Small Groups Organized 17

Organized::

Organized: 1. "Crude descriptions of grass roots lobbying emphasize those occasions on which legislators generally have been overwhelmed by sheer volume, but this is not necessarily reflective of the majority of successful modern grass roots activity." 2. "Simple campaigns "(t)hat impl (y) virtually no real effort or interest on the part of the signatories . . . will not weigh heavily upon the politician, even when thousands (are involved)." 18

Organized::

Organized: 1. Sheer Volume 2. V irtually No Real Effort Or Interest 3. Not Reflective Of (Most) Successful Modern Grass Roots Activity 4. Will Not Weigh Heavily Upon The Politician 19

VOTERS - 'You have to participate to be heard'. :

VOTERS - 'You have to participate to be heard'. "A well-organized and genuine grass roots campaign can signal to a politician the strength of feeling on an issue in his or her constituency, and the likely electoral impact come the next election.” “strength of feeling” “electoral impact” 20

VOTERS - 'You have to participate to be heard'. :

'In close races the value of . . . giving a candidate $10,000 is much less than the value of . . . organising 40 people to work on (his or her) campaign.’ organizing a manageable number of people (for example, 10, 20, 30, 40 volunteers . . .) versus hefty campaign donations VOTERS - 'You have to participate to be heard'. 21

“strength of feeling on an issue . . . and the likely electoral impact”:

“The first step to addressing (an) issue is to define and frame the problem.” Adrian Reed, TAP University 1/2011 Post “ strength of feeling on an issue . . . and the likely electoral impact ” How a problem is defined will affect how it is solved 22

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Rather than arm-wrestle with the judiciary for public opinion on the SCOPE or EXTENT of judicial corruption in America, why not focus on the very serious, INDISPUTABLE problems with our courts? 23

Judicial Corruption -vs- Indisputable Problems:

Judicial Corruption - vs - Indisputable Problems Judicial Corruption: sensational; simple; arouse passion; universal concern; evoke outrage; spark quick action; etc. Indisputable Problems: dull; complex; arouse apathy; seem irrelevant to most; too time-consuming; not action-orientated; etc. Perceived Character of Campaigns Based On: 24

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Stelzer : Do you think these movements are not effective because (their leaders) aren’t trying? Or they just haven’t found the right strategy—or are refusing to see it? Lawson: I don’t think they have the right strategy. In the first instance, they’re not working from a non-violent perspective and methodology. Secondly, they’re not taking the time to assess what they need to be doing or what needs to be corrected (before) settling on a single issue and working on it. Thirdly, they’re not mobilizing in terms of a mass direct action that dramatizes the issue and helps to change the public mind. Rev. James M. Lawson 25

The Voices::

The Voices: 26

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"An implicit or explicit call for change, resonating in the work of a country’s brightest scholars, the discourse of its public policy thought leaders, including mainstream as well as grassroots advocates, and the hearts of its most enlightened citizenry, is a mandate for government reform, no matter how dramatic." Ndiva Kofele -Kale, Esq., Ph.D , Juris Dr. “Distinguished Professor and Professor of Law” Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law 27

MANDATE for government reform::

MANDATE for government reform: 28

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Judicial Corruption: sensational; simple; arouse passion; universal concern; evoke outrage; spark quick action; etc. Indisputable Problems: dull; complex; arouse apathy; seem irrelevant to most; too time-consuming; not action-orientated; etc. 29

Any Dispensable?:

Any Dispensable? 30

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31 Indisputable Problems: dull; complex; arouse apathy; seem irrelevant to most; too time-consuming; not action-orientated; etc. “What is needed is a protracted struggle — organizing around non-violent assessment and focusing . . . with maybe a decade or two of intense activity . . .” Rev. James Lawson (1). renewed personal and professional credibility; (2). corresponding dignity; (3). restored and newly created capacity to prevail; and, finally, (4). direct, personal vindication and relief.

Our Core Team::

Our Core Team: 32 The kind of statements we’ve made and positions we’ve taken: spotlight the widespread discontent with America’s legal system without suggesting that discontent “proves” widespread corruption; emphasize that America’s judiciary should not be the final arbiter of its own integrity; capitalize on the un-ending waves of political, corporate, and church scandals to establish that high station in life is no guarantee of integrity; confirm that self-policing generally does not work; establish the imbalance of power between America’s judges and its sovereign people when judges essentially control all government processes for evaluating their conduct; demonstrate the lack of meaningful citizen oversight in America; prove our democracy is so heavily weighted against the disenfranchised that considering America a republican form of government requires a leap of faith; go a long way towards proving there can be no “rule of law” without meaningful citizen oversight.

Our Core Team::

Our Core Team: What can your group do? Organizational Capacity; State of the Art; Mutual Respect; Cooperation and Coordination. 33

McGrath, Conor (2004) "Grass Roots Lobbying: Marketing Politics and Policy Beyond The Beltway", paper delivered to the conference on "Elections on the Horizon: Marketing Politics to the Electorate in the USA and UK", British Library.:

McGrath, Conor (2004) "Grass Roots Lobbying: Marketing Politics and Policy Beyond The Beltway", paper delivered to the conference on "Elections on the Horizon: Marketing Politics to the Electorate in the USA and UK", British Library. " Recalling the slogan in George Orwell's Animal Farm that ‘all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others’, (one veteran Washington lobbyist) insists on the importance of what he terms the ‘leadership community’ in every congressional district – the bankers, doctors, University professors, newspaper publishers, religious leaders, and so on . . . . 'These are the key people that Representatives pay attention to’." . . . “Lobbying campaigns which utilise the leadership community rather than the mass public have become known as ‘grass tops’ strategies.” 34

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Email: forum@njcdlp.org Internet : http://50states.ning.com/ NFOJA The Official Network of Community Forums on Judicial Accountability 36

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Presented by the National Forum On Judicial Accountability (NFOJA) The Official Network of Community Forums on Judicial Accountability © 2011 National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The End