The second paper is due on May 6, 2002. Your paper should be typed, double-spaced, with normal font size and margins. I expect that you will need approximately 8-10 pages to complete the assignment. As I mentioned in class, I am willing to review drafts of papers before they are due. Thus, if you give me a draft by April 29, I will review it and give you my comments. You then may revise the paper and hand it in on the 6^th.

Here is the topic:

Some judges and court administrators are concerned that public confidence in the courts is relatively low. Should they be concerned (i.e., is it important that there be public confidence in the courts)? Why or why not? Relying on your experience as a court monitor, do you have confidence that the courts are carrying out their functions in the way they should be? Why or why not? Has your position changed as a result of your monitoring experiences? Discuss.

Note: Obviously when you address the court monitoring aspect of this topic, you need to base your discussion and conclusions on your personal experiences. When you do so, be sure to provide many examples to support your answer. For the other aspect of the paper topic (i.e., public confidence in the courts), you will have to do some outside research. When researching public confidence in the courts, you should find some helpful information in law reviews, current periodicals (including social science periodicals and legal periodicals) and on some state court websites. A good place to start you search is LEXIS (go to "Legal Research" then search in "Legal News" and "Law Reviews"). Other periodical indices in the library also may be of help.

To get you started, here is one citation to an article available on LEXIS -- Bruce M. Selya, "Essay: Thoughts from the Bench: The Confidence Game: Public Perceptions of the Judiciary. " New England Law Review, Volume 30, Page 909 (1996). You should incorporate at least six outside sources into your paper.