NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE

2025 JUDGES FORUM: JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION AND PRECEDENT - THE VITAL ROLE OF STATE COURTS (SAN FRANCISCO) NCJI'S 34TH ANNUAL JUDGES FORUM WAS HELD IN PERSON ON JULY 19, 2025 IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. NINETY-NINE JUDGES FROM 31 STATES, ALONG WITH ACADEMICS AND PRACTITIONERS, PARTICIPATED IN A FULL-DAY PROGRAM FOCUSED ON HOW STATE COURTS INTERPRET PRECEDENT IN AN ERA OF SHIFTING FEDERAL DOCTRINE AND HEIGHTENED PUBLIC SCRUTINY OF THE JUDICIARY. THE PROGRAM EXAMINED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE AND FEDERAL JURISPRUDENCE, HOW STATE COURTS CAN DEVELOP INDEPENDENT BODIES OF LAW UNDER THEIR OWN CONSTITUTIONS, AND THE PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF PRECEDENT FOR DAY-TO-DAY JUDGING. AN OUTSTANDING FACULTY OF JUDGES AND SCHOLARS LED SESSIONS THROUGHOUT THE DAY FOCUSED ON TWO ORIGINAL ACADEMIC PAPERS: POPULAR ACCOUNTABILITY AND STATE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW BY PROF. JONATHAN MARSHFIELD OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA LEVIN COLLEGE OF LAW; AND THE BOTTOM-UP CONSTITUTION: STATES AND THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW BY DEAN GERALD DICKINSON OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF LAW. JUDGES ALSO ENGAGED IN SMALL-GROUP DISCUSSIONS TO SHARE EXPERIENCES ACROSS JURISDICTIONS. ATTENDING JUDGES GAVE THE FORUM AN OVERALL RATING OF 4.72 OUT OF 5.

2025 CIVIL JUSTICE SCHOLARSHIP AWARD. NCJI CONFERRED ITS 2025 CIVIL JUSTICE SCHOLARSHIP AWARD ON THE AUTHORS OF TWO LAW REVIEW ARTICLES ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF CIVIL JURIES IN A DEMOCRACY AND HOW CERTAIN LARGE DEBT- COLLECTORS EXPLOIT THE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM. PROF. RICHARD JOLLY, PROF. VALERIE HANS AND ATTORNEY ROBERT PECK WERE RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR ARTICLE DEMOCRATIC RENEWAL AND THE CIVIL JURY 57 GA. L. REV. 79 (2022), WHICH HIGHLIGHTS THE CIVIL JURY'S VITAL ROLE AS A CORNERSTONE OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNANCE AND ITS POTENTIAL TO FOSTER SOCIOPOLITICAL RENEWAL. PROF. DANIEL WILF-TOWNSEND WAS RECOGNIZED FOR HIS ARTICLE ASSEMBLY-LINE PLAINTIFFS 135 HARV. L. REV. 1704 (2022), WHICH ARGUES THAT STATE COURTS ACROSS THE U.S. ARE BEING OVERWHELMED BY A HIGH VOLUME OF LOW-VALUE CLAIMS FROM LARGE CORPORATE PLAINTIFFS, OFTEN TARGETING UNREPRESENTED AND VULNERABLE DEFENDANTS. THE AWARD RECIPIENTS RECEIVED MONETARY STIPENDS, FRAMED CERTIFICATES, AND A PAID TRIP TO BE HONORED AT THE NCJI FELLOWS RECEPTION IN MIAMI, FLORIDA IN FEBRUARY 2025.