James Madison wrote in Federalist Paper #10 that “no man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity.” In 1996, the Miller Center convened the National Commission on the Selection of Federal Judges, co-chaired by former Attorney General Nicholas deB. Katzenbach and former Deputy Attorney General Harold R. Tyler, Jr., to review the selection process for federal judges.

The National Commission on the Selection of Federal Judges (1996)

Read the Commission's Final Report (Adobe Acrobat)

Co-Chairs:

Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, U.S. Attorney General, 1965-1966 (Chairman, MCI, Inc.)

Harold R. Tyler, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, 1956-1960; Deputy Attorney General, 1975-1977; Partner, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler

Commissioners:

Howard H. Baker, Jr., White House Chief of Staff, 1987-1988; U.S. Senator from Tennessee, 1967-1985; Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, 1981-1985 (U.S. Ambassador to Japan; Senior Advisor, Citigroup)

Birch E. Bayh, Jr., U.S. Senator from Indiana, 1963-1981 (Partner, Venable)

Lovida H. Coleman, Jr., Special Assistant to the Attorney General, 1977-1980 (Partner, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, LLP)

Lloyd N. Cutler, White House Counsel, 1977-1981, 1994; Partner, Wilmer Cutler & Pickering

Fred F. Fielding, White House Counsel, 1981-1986 (Commissioner, National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States; Partner, Wiley, Rein & Fielding)

Leon A. Higginbotham, Jr., Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1977-1993 (Of Counsel, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison)

Frederick B. Lacey, United States District Judge, 1971-1986 (Special Counsel, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & McRae)

Daniel J. Meador, Assistant Attorney General, 1977-1979 (James Monroe Professor of Law, Emeritus, University of Virginia School of Law)

Kimba M. Wood, Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1987-present (Chief Judge, Southern District, 2006)

Commission Director:

Kenneth W. Thompson, Director of the Miller Center, 1978-1998