Sounding the Alarm: A year of forums gave judges a platform to warn about threats to U.S. courts
LOS ANGELES, July 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Speak Up for Justice (SU4J) is honored to receive the Judicial Independence Award from the International Association of Judges (IAJ), the global body representing national judges' associations worldwide. The prestigious recognition celebrates the nonpartisan movement, founded by Los Angeles trial attorney Paul Kiesel, for its leadership in defending judicial independence and championing the rule of law.
SU4J shares this year's honor with the European Court of Human Rights and Dr. Fernando Cruz Castro, former President of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica. In notifying SU4J of the award, IAJ President Walter Barone cited the organization's commitment to protecting judicial independence from political pressure, giving voice to threatened judges, and raising public awareness of the risks facing democratic institutions.
"This recognition is really about the judges who have courageously spoken publicly about the pressures, threats, and intimidation facing the judiciary," said Paul Kiesel. "Over the past year, we've heard from judges and attorneys in the U.S. and around the world who have warned that attacks on judicial independence ultimately threaten the public's faith in the rule of law. We're honored that the International Association of Judges recognizes the importance of ensuring those voices are heard."
A Year of Elevating Judicial Voices
Since convening its first forum on April 15, 2025, SU4J has hosted monthly virtual forums, building a sustained, nonpartisan record of judges, legal scholars, and public officials speaking up about threats to the judiciary. All forums are archived free at YouTube.com/@SpeakUpForJustice.
Forum speakers have included Justice Anthony M. Kennedy (Ret.), former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, former South African Constitutional Court Justice Richard Goldstone, former California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, former Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, Judge John E. Jones III, Judge Bernice Donald, Judge Margaret McKeown, U.C. Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, and sitting federal judges including Judge Ana Reyes and Judge John C. Coughenour. International jurists — including Judge Eleazar Javier Saldivia of Venezuela and Judge Dorota Zabludowska of Poland — have offered firsthand accounts of judicial systems dismantled under political pressure, framing the stakes for American courts today.
The forums have also given voice to judges facing direct threats for their rulings, and have tracked a documented rise in hostility toward the judiciary: threats against federal judges reported by the U.S. Marshals Service climbed from 509 in FY2024 to 564 in FY2025, with 370 more reported so far in FY2026.
The award will be presented during IAJ's annual meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, October 15–21, with the ceremony at the close of the opening session on October 18. Leo M. Gordon, Senior Judge of the U.S. Court of International Trade, President-Elect of the Federal Judges Association, and a member of Speak Up for Justice's Executive Committee, will accept the award on behalf of the organization.
About Speak Up for Justice
Founded by Attorney Paul Kiesel, Partner, Kiesel Law LLP, Speak Up for Justice is a nonpartisan movement of legal professionals, judges, and advocates dedicated to defending the independence of the judiciary, promoting accountability, and protecting democracy from political interference in the courts. The Speak Up for Justice Executive Committee includes the following distinguished members: Judge Beth Bloom, Judge Esther Salas, Judge Karoline Mehalchick, Judge Leo Gordon, Karl J. Sandstrom, and Paul Kiesel. More information is available at SpeakUpForJustice.law.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
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