Aliza Shatzman on Holding Judges Accountable

In this episode, Aliza Shatzman, an attorney and advocate based in Washington, DC, discusses her article "Untouchable Judges? What I've learned about harassment in the judiciary, and what we can do to stop it," which will be published in the UCLA Journal of Gender & Law. Here is the abstract:Drawing from the author’s own experience of gender discrimination, harassment, and retaliation during her clerkship and in the years following it by a former DC Superior Court judge, this Article analyzes the deficits in current federal and DC judicial reporting systems to demonstrate the urgent need for reform. I argue that harassment in the judiciary is pervasive, due to both enormous power disparities between judges and law clerks, and various institutional barriers that perpetuate misconduct and discourage reporting. I survey existing methods of judicial discipline in both the federal and DC Courts and argue that these provide insufficient redress for workplace misconduct. I then discuss the Judiciary Accountability Act (JAA) (HR 4827/S 2553), which would finally protect judiciary employees, including law clerks and federal public defenders, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, enabling employees to sue their harassers and seek damages for harm done to their careers, reputations, and future earning potential. Furthermore, I argue that the DC Courts should be included in the JAA, because they are Article I courts created and regulated by Congress, and DC Courts judges are arguably federal judges for Title VII and disciplinary purposes. I also offer a variety of other proposed reforms, which would both strengthen the JAA and provide additional protections to uniquely vulnerable judiciary employees. I conclude by reflecting on my attempts to report the misconduct I experienced, how the systems failed me when I tried to report, and my efforts to seek justice for myself and accountability for the misbehaving former judge.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

Ipse Dixit is a podcast on legal scholarship. Each episode of Ipse Dixit features a different guest discussing their scholarship. The podcast also features several special series."From the Archives" consists historical recordings potentially of interest to legal scholars and lawyers."The Homicide Squad" consists of investigations of the true stories behind different murder ballads, as well as examples of how different musicians have interpreted the song over time."The Day Antitrust Died?" is co-hosted with Ramsi Woodcock, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law, and consists of oral histories of the 1974 Airlie House Conference on antitrust law, a pivotal moment in the history of antitrust theory and policy.The hosts of Ipse Dixit are:Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of LawLuce Nguyen, a student at Oberlin College and the co-founder of the Oberlin Policy Research Institute, an undergraduate public policy organization based at Oberlin CollegeMaybell Romero, Assistant Professor of Law at Northern Illinois University College of LawAntonia Eliason, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Mississippi School of LawSaurabh Vishnubhakat, Associate Professor of Law at Texas A&M School of LawJohn Culhane, Professor of Law at Widener University Delaware Law SchoolBenjamin Edwards, Associate Professor of Law at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of LawMatthew Bruckner, Associate Professor of Law at Howard University School of LawComments and suggestions are always welcome at brianlfrye@gmail.com. You can follow the Ipse Dixit on Twitter at @IpseDixitPod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.