Sedona Conference Issues 'Open Letter' in Defense of the Judiciary

The influential law reform organization urges members to pressure Congress for increased protection of judges, court staff, and their families.

PHOENIX, AZ, UNITED STATES, June 10, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Sedona Conference, a leading nonpartisan law reform organization, has issued a strongly worded “Open Letter” to its members and supporters, echoing U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ recent comments on the independence of the judiciary and the important of the rule of law. It urges members to contact their Congressional representatives in support of increased funding for the physical protection of judges, court staff, and their families.

The statement is the result of a meeting held on May 15 in Washington, D.C., during which approximately 50 senior litigators and retired judges voiced their concerns for the rule of law, followed the next day by a meeting of the Sedona Conference Board of Directors. Board chair Robert Greene Sterne of Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, PLLC and Kenneth Joel Withers, Executive Director of The Sedona Conference, co-signed the Open Letter, which was released today.

“For The Sedona Conference, the rule of law rests on two pillars: (1) an independent judiciary and (2) due process,” the letter declares, adding, “Sedona is committed to the twin pillars of the rule of law, and today we join the Chief Justice’s call to their defense.”

Chief Justice Roberts included language in the Supreme Court’s Year End Report, issued on December 31, 2024, emphasizing the critical role that an independent judiciary plays in ensuring respect for the rule of law, observing that “[b]efore the American founding, no other country had found a way to ensure that the people and their government respect the law.” He went on to identify four threats to “the independence of judges on which the rule of law depends: (1) violence, (2) intimidation, (3) disinformation, and (4) threats to defy lawfully entered judgments.”

The Sedona letter states, “[w]e have seen in recent months targeted speech that might be construed as threats to the physical safety of judges as well as their families. We condemn such threats and trust that the Legislative and Executive Branches of the federal government will respond appropriately and fund the security that judges should have as they discharge their duties, including by the U.S. Marshals Service. Such protection must also extend to non-physical threats or harassment, including against members of the judges’ families.”

The Sedona letter concludes by announcing plans to hold meetings in select cities over the summer “to allow members and supporters a chance to provide their input, listen to others, and reach consensus on concrete steps we can take together to support and defend the judiciary and ‘move the law forward in a reasoned and just way.’”

Kenneth Withers
The Sedona Conference
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