President’s Column: A TRULY BROADER JUDICIAL HORIZON

The American Judges Association recently completed its annual conference in Toronto, Canada, from September 26 to 29, 2016. The theme of the conference was comparative law in Canada and the United States. It focused on issues of common interest to judges on both sides of the border. These included such contemporary topics as “Judicial Ethics and Social Media,” “Wrongful Convictions Across Borders,” “Cannabis and the Greening of North America,” and “Judge’s Role in Ensuring Constitutional Right to Counsel.” All sessions featured leading academics and judges from Canada and the United States. On one panel we were pleased to have the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam, Robert Torres. A memorable highlight was the eloquent address by Justice Rosalie Abella of the Supreme Court of Canada. She emphasized the critical role of the judiciary in ensuring the protection of basic human rights in a democracy