Pierre Bergeron

Profile

Judge Bergeron was elected to Ohio’s First District Court of Appeals in November 2018 following a career as one of the leading appellate lawyers in the region. He began his career clerking for the Honorable David A. Nelson on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. He then he joined the international firm of Squire Patton Boggs, eventually chairing their Appellate and Supreme Court Practice Group.  Bergeron argued in federal and state appellate courts across the country and was one of only a handful of lawyers in Ohio who have argued more than once before the United States Supreme Court.

Active as well in pro bono matters while in practice, Judge Bergeron founded the Appellate Litigation Clinic at the University of Cincinnati College of Law to enable students to have the chance to represent indigent clients on appeal. Judge Bergeron won pro bono appeals before the Ohio Supreme Court, the Kentucky Supreme Court, and the Sixth Circuit.

Representative Publications

The Future of Discretionary Interlocutory Review (2012, with Bruce Khula), ABA Appellate Practice Journal; Sixth Circuit Practice Manual (2006), contributing author and editor; At the Cross-Roads of Federalism and Arbitration: The Application of Prima Paint to Purportedly Void Contracts, 93 Ky. L.J. 423 (2004/2005); District Courts as Gatekeepers? A New Vision of Appellate Jurisdiction Over Orders Compelling Arbitration, 51 Emory L.J. 1365 (2002); En Banc Practice in the Sixth Circuit: An Empirical Study, 1990-2000, 68 Tenn. L. Rev. 771 (2001); Navigating the “Deep and Unsettled Sea” of Covenant Not to Compete Litigation in Ohio: A Comprehensive Look, 31 U. Tol. L. Rev. 373 (2000)

Education

J.D., 1999, University of Virginia School of Law: B.A., 1996, Centre College

Career History

Associate, Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, 1999-2000; Law Clerk, the Honorable David A. Nelson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2000-01; Partner and Chair of Appellate Practice Group, Squire Patton Boggs, 2001-2019; Judge, Ohio First District Court of Appeals, since 2019.

Member

American Judges Association, Ohio Judicial Conference, Cincinnati Bar Association (trustee), Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference (life member), Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (past president)

Kevin Burke

Profile

Kevin Burke, a Minneapolis trial judge since 1984, is one of the most recognized leaders within the American judiciary. He served several terms as chief judge of the Hennepin County (Minn.) District Court, a 62-judge court, where he instituted social-science studies examining—and reforms improving—procedural fairness. Burke coauthored the American Judges Association’s white paper on procedural fairness in 2007. Since then, he and his white paper coauthor, Kansas judge Steve Leben, have made invited presentations on procedural fairness to more than 2,000 state and federal judges.

Burke received the William H. Rehnquist Award from the National Center for State Courts in 2003, an award presented annually to the state judge who most exemplifies the highest level of judicial excellence, integrity, fairness, and professional ethics. He has received many other awards, including trial judge of the year by the Minnesota chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates in 2005; Public Official of the Year by Governing magazine in 2004; the Distinguished Service Award from the National Center for State Courts in 2002; and the Director’s Community Leadership Award from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1997.

Burke presently serves as president of the American Judges Association. He regularly lectures judges throughout the United States and Canada, and he also teaches at two law schools:  he teaches trial practice at the University of Minnesota law school and criminal procedure at the University of St. Thomas law school.

Representative Publications

“Just What Made Drug Courts Successful?,” 36 New Eng. J. Crim. & Civ. Confinement 39 (2010); “Understanding the International Rule of Law as a Commitment to Procedural Fairness,” 18 Minn. J. Int’l L. 357 (2009); “The Evolution of the Trial Judge from Counting Case Dispositions to a Commitment to Fairness,” 18 Widener L.J. 397 (2009) (coauthored with Steve Leben); “Procedural Fairness:  A Key Ingredient in Public Satisfaction,” 44 Court Review 4 (2007-2008) (coauthored with Steve Leben); “An Opportunity for Leadership Is Lost,” 55 Drake L. Rev. 611 (2007); “State v. Dettman:  The End of the Sentencing Revolution or Just the Beginning?,” 33 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 1331 (2007); “A Judiciary That Is as Good as Its Promise:  The Best Strategy for Preserving Judicial Independence,” Court Review, Summer 2004, at 4; “A Court and a Judiciary That Is as Good as Its Promise,” Court Review, Summer 2003, at 4.

Education

J.D., 1975, University of Minnesota; B.A., 1972, University of Minnesota, political science, summa cum laude; Reflective Leadership Program (1984-85), Ethics and Public Policy Program (1986), University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

Career History

Assistant Public Defender, Hennepin County Public Defenders Office, 1975-79; Partner, Ranum, Quackenbush & Burke, 1979-80; Partner, Chestnut & Brooks, P.A., 1980-84; District Judge, Hennepin County (Minn.) District Court, 1984-present (Chief Judge, 1992-96 and 2000-04; Assistant Chief Judge, 1989-1992 and 1998-2000; Presiding Judge, Drug Court, 1997-2000).

Member

American Judges Association (president); American Judicature Society (member, Board of Directors, 2004-present); Editorial Board, Justice System Journal (1997-present); Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, University of Denver (member, Advisory Board, 2006-present); National Center for State Courts (past member, Board of Directors, 1995-2001).

Click here to contact Judge Burke.

Steve Leben

Profile

Steve Leben is a nationally recognized authority on improving judicial practices to enhance procedural fairness; he coauthored a white paper on procedural fairness for the American Judges Association in 2007. Since then, Leben and his white-paper coauthor, Minnesota trial judge Kevin Burke, have made invited presentations on procedural fairness to more than 2,000 state and federal judges.

Leben has published 14 law-review articles in the areas of procedural justice, administrative law, civil procedure, family law, and evidence. His scholarly publications have been cited by state and federal courts in Kansas and in more than 75 law-journal articles by other authors. Leben has edited a national publication for judges, Court Review, since 1998, and he received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Center for State Courts in 2003 for his work toward the improvement of the American judiciary.

Leben also has taught the Legislation class at the  University of Kansas School of Law since 2007; his course focuses on statutory interpretation.  Leben’s teaching is informed by regular experience interpreting statutes as an appellate judge, nearly 14 years as a trial judge, and 11 years of law practice.

Representative Publications

“The Evolution of the Trial Judge from Counting Case Dispositions to a Commitment to Fairness,” 18 Widener L.J. 397 (2009) (coauthored with Kevin Burke); “Commenting on Credibility in Kansas:  A Constructive Criticism of State v. Pabst,” 56 Kan. L. Rev. 869 (2008); “Procedural Fairness:  A Key Ingredient in Public Satisfaction,” 44 Court Review 4 (2007-2008); “Thoughts on Some Potential Appellate and Trial Court Applications of Therapeutic Jurisprudence,” 24 Seattle U. L. Rev. 467 (2001); “A Kansas Approach to Custodial Parent Move-Away Cases,” 37 Washburn L.J. 497 (1998) (coauthored with Megan Moriarty); “Restoring the Common in the Law:  A Proposal for the Elimination of Rules Prohibiting the Citation of Unpublished Opinions in Kansas and the Tenth Circuit,” 31 Washburn L.J. 155 (1992) (coauthored with Mark D. Hinderks).

Education

J.D., University of Kansas, 1982, Associate Editor, Kansas Law Review; B.S., journalism, University of Kansas, 1978.

Career History

Press Secretary, U.S. Rep. Bob Whittaker (R.-Kan.), 1979; Associate, Stinson, Mag & Fizzell (now Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP), 1982-88; Solo Practice, 1988-1993; District Judge, Johnson County (Kan.), 1993-2007; Judge, Kansas Court of Appeals, since 2007; Lecturer, University of Kansas School of Law, since 2007.

Member

American Law Institute (elected member); American Judges Association (past president); American Bar Association, Judicial Division and Administrative Law Section (member, State Administrative Law Committee); Kansas Bar Association; Editorial Board, Justice System Journal; Kansas Judicial Council, Administrative Procedure Advisory Committee; KU Law Alumni Association (president-elect); Order of the Coif.

Click here to contact Judge Leben.

David Rottman

Profile

David Rottman is a researcher at the National Center for State Courts, where he took a lead role in California’s public trust and confidence research project in 2004 and 2005. That study provided key data documenting the effects of procedural fairness as a key ingredient in public satisfaction with the courts. In 2000, he directed a national survey of “Perceptions of the Courts in Your Community,” which compared perceptions of procedural fairness of recent court users to others and across racial and ethnic groups.

A sociologist by academic training, Rottman has worked at the National Center for State Courts since 1987. His research interests include  public opinion of the courts, problem-solving courts, minority-group perceptions of the courts, judicial selection, and judicial-performance evaluation.-

Representative Publications

Books and Monographs: A Community Court Grows in Brooklyn (an evaluation of the Red Hook Community Justice Center); Trust and Confidence in the California Courts, 2005: A Survey of the Public and Attorneys (available at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/reference/4_ 37pubtrust.htm; Perceptions of the Courts in Your Community (2003), Dispensing Justice Locally:  The Implementation and Effects of the Midtown Community Court (2000); Class Stratification:  A Comparative Perspective (1995) Articles:  Judicial Ethics, Everyday Work and Emotion Management,” Journal of Law and Courts, (2020) (with S. Roach Anleu, K Mack, J. Elek, and D. Rottman), “The Emotional Dimension of Judging:  Issues, Evidence and Insights,” Court Review (2016) with  S. Roach Anleu, D. Rottman, and K. Mack (available at  http://www.amjudges.org/publications/courtrv/cr52-2/Anleu.pdf); “Thinking about Judges and Judicial Performance: The Perspective of the Public,” Oñati Socio-Legal Series (2014): D. Rottman and T. Tyler; “Judicial Performance Evaluation in the States: A Reexamination,” Judicature (2014) with J. Elek, D. Rottman, and B. Cutler, “Procedural Fairness as a Court Reform Agenda,” Court Review 32 (2008).

Education

B.A., 1971, urban planning, with highest honors, University of Illinois; M.A., sociology, 1973, University of Illinois; Ph.D., sociology, 1975, University of Illinois.

Career History

Principal Court Research Consultant, National Center for State Courts (1987-2020), Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology, The University of Connecticut (1986-87); Senior Research Officer, 1975—1987) The Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, Ireland (1975-1987)

Tom Tyler

Profile

Tom Tyler has been  recognized as the leading academic thinking about and studying procedural fairness  since the publication of his book, Why People Obey the Law, in 1990. His research focuses on authority dynamics within organized groups, and his research has demonstrated that the legitimacy of authorities and institutions. like courts, is strongly linked to judgments about fairness. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books and more than one hundreds articles.

Tyler’s work served as the basis for efforts to redesign California state courts as part of a procedural-fairness initiative there over the past several years. He has also been active in studying the police and policing models in Chicago, California, and New York.

Tyler is presently a professor of law and psychology at Yale Law School.

Representative Publications

Books:  Why People Obey the Law (1st ed. 1990; 2d ed. 2006); Trust in the Law:  Encouraging Public Cooperation with the Police and Courts (2002) (coauthored with Yuen J. Huo); The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice (1988) (coauthored with E. Allan Lind); Social Justice in a Diverse Society (1997) (coauthored with Robert J. Boeckmann, Heather J. Smith, and Yuen J. Huo.

Articles:  “Procedural Justice and the Courts,” 44 Court Review 26 (2008); “The Role of Procedural Justice and Legitimacy in Shaping Public Support for Policing,” 37 Law & Soc’y Rev. 513 (2003); “Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and the Effective Rule of Law,” 30 Crime & Justice 283 (2003).

Education

B.A., 1973 (psychology), Columbia University; Ph.D. 1978, M.A. 1974 (social psychology), University of California at Los Angeles. Click here for Professor Tyler’s Curriculum Vitae.

Click here to contact Professor Tyler.