The University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online presents the fourth installment of “Independent and Accountable Courts in Perilous Times: Perspectives from the Academy, the Bench, and the Bar.” Now the series gains perspective from a practitioner in the courts with Michael Traynor’s response, “Some Friendly Suggestions for the Federal Judiciary About Accountability.” In this essay, Traynor focuses on the fundamental necessity of independent and capable judging and the current weakening of political safeguards meant to bolster independent and capable judging. Because of this weakening and recent events that have highlighted it, Traynor argues that new safeguards must be put in place by the judiciary itself in order to retain its independence at a time when it is most needed.
2020 Essay