Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor issued an ominous warning about attacks on judicial independence on March 9, 2006: "it takes a lot of degeneration before a country falls into dictatorship, but we should avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings." Verbal attacks on the courts have continued unabated: some have called for the impeachment of judges with whose rulings they disagree; others have attempted to intimidate or threaten judges who make controversial decisions; some studies show that public approval of the courts may be waning; and several ballot measures put to the voters on November 7 were intended to "rein in" judges in various ways. Against this backdrop, ACS co-hosted a panel discussion about attacks on judicial independence on November 15th, 2006. The panel featured, from left to right:

• Caprice Roberts, Associate Professor of Law, West Virginia College of Law
• Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor, Slate.com
• Barry Friedman, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
• Hon. Bob Barr, former U.S. Representative, 1995-2003
• Moderator Melody Barnes, Executive Vice President for Policy, Center for American Progress