Message from California Judges Association’s Judicial Fairness Coalition

To: All California Attorneys

From: Hon. David Rosenberg (Ret.) and Heather L. Rosing, Esq.
Co-Chairs, California Judges Association’s Judicial Fairness Coalition

We write to you as the Co-Chairs of the California Judges Association’s Judicial Fairness Coalition (JFC) to ask for your support in defending judicial independence, and thus promoting a fair and impartial system, in a time of unprecedented attacks on the judicial branch in the current socio-political climate.

Judicial independence is a fundamental part of our democracy, but one that the public may not always fully appreciate or understand. Given our role as ambassadors of the court, it is incumbent upon us to engage actively in educating the public about the indispensable role of an independent judiciary.

The impending local and national elections underscore the urgency and importance of our task. Historically, voters have lacked awareness regarding judicial elections, candidate information, and the consequential impact of their votes. With your help, we hope to ignite a collective effort to assist the people of the State of California by offering education, facilitating access to pertinent information and resources, answering questions, and overall, acting as ambassadors for our third branch of government.

In 2022, JFC launched a statewide campaign aiming to demystify the third branch of government, abate unfair criticism of judges, and reinforce the importance of an impartial judiciary. Through the campaign, a variety of materials have been created and distributed, and we have invested in growing our social media presence. There are abundant resources available to help us in our charge. We have made several available for easy access at https://www.caljudges.org/CommFairness.asp, and we encourage you to share any additional resources you may have that would be of value to lawyer, legal organizations, and community organizations.

Let’s join forces and take proactive steps to illuminate the importance of an autonomous judicial branch within our own communities. By discussing how judges are appointed and elected, the importance of voting in contested judicial elections, and sharing our experiences with the court system as attorneys, we can help to garner a better understanding of the judicial branch. Many bar associations have judicial independence committees, so please also consider joining in those efforts.

Please also share our social media posts to your own pages, or like and comment on individual posts to enhance their visibility and reach a broader audience.  JFC can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/judicialfairness and on Twitter (X) at @caljudges.

Together, let’s lead the charge in cultivating a more informed citizenry. It is our hope that we can effectuate change and create communities that are not only better educated, but more invested in upholding judicial independence and the integrity of our courts.

For inquiries about the JFC, please email karen@fullkorrpress.com.