Judges and Legislators Toward Institutional Comity

“The Judiciary and Congress not only do not communicate on their most basic concerns; they do not know how they may properly do so,” writes Frank M. Coffin, a federal appeals court judge and former representative, in Judges and Legislators. “The condition is that of a chronic, debilitating fever.” Though the Senate lavishes it’s attention from time to time on particular judicial nominees, Congress remains largely oblivious of the wellbeing of the federal judiciary as an institution. And the judiciary seems often unaware of the critical nuances of the legislative process. This state of affairs has had an adverse effect not only on relations between the two branches, but also on public policy more generally. Some forty-five people including a Supreme Court justice, federal and state court judges, legislators and legislative staffers, scholars, and members of the private bar gathered for a series of discussion to identify fundamental issues affecting judicial-congressional relations. The articles published in this volume are an outgrowth of those discussions.