Rethinking Fairness: Principled Legal Realism and Federal Jurisdiction

What should be special about our federal judges? By focusing on several federal courts opinions by Second Circuit Judge Jon O. Newman, as well as discussing some of Newman's extrajudicial writing, this article identifies and discusses key aspects of judicial craftsmanship and independence. The article then builds upon Judge Newman's innovative proposals for far-reaching federal court reform necessary to protect and even to enhance the admirable qualities we can identify in some of our best judges.