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Response to Criticism of Judges or the Courts

The Idaho State Bar has developed a “Program for the Appropriate Response to Criticism of Judges and Courts” that carefully indicates situations in which the bar will respond to criticism of a judge, the courts or the justice system in the news media. The policy statement outlines referral and investigation procedures by the bar, guidelines for determining when the bar should respond, and the form that responses by the bar usually follow.

Since it is generally undesirable for a judge to respond to criticism of his or her own actions in the news media, the bar established the policy so that the effectiveness of the administration of justice could be maintained through fair investigation of critical statements and appropriate responses. Go to “Program for the Appropriate Response to Criticism of Judges and Courts” to view the complete policy statement.