Dickinson President Joins Unprecedented Legal Forum With Fellow Retired Judges
Speak Up for Justice Presents Livestream Conversation
by Craig Layne
Dickinson President John E. Jones III ’77, P’11, a former federal judge, will join a panel of retired judges to discuss impartiality, the rule of law and threats to the judiciary. Their conversation, “Without Fear or Favor,” will be livestreamed on Thursday, April 30, at noon ET. It’s organized by Speak Up for Justice, a national nonpartisan movement uniting legal leaders to confront escalating threats and intimidation facing judges across the country.
“Judges understand the job is not without risk, but we are seeing an uptick in both the number of threats and the gravity of those threats,” Jones said. “I'm happy to work with my former colleagues on the bench to highlight these issues and explain a bit about the important role of the country’s legal system.”
President Jones will join former Chief Justice of California Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye, former Chief Justice of Ohio Maureen O’Connor and former U.S. District Court Judge and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judge Bernice Bouie Donald on the panel. The discussion will be moderated by nationally recognized trial attorney Paul Kiesel.
Jones is no stranger to speaking up. On 60 Minutes recently, he told CBS News' Bill Whitaker, "In very plain English: if we're not careful, we're going to get a judge killed. It's just that stark." CBS News reported that 400 federal judges were targets of serious threats in the last year, a 78% increase in four years.
Jones is a sought-after commentator in the international and national media on the state of the judiciary, appearing frequently on CNN and MS Now. He has penned opinion pieces in The New York Times and The Hill, and his commentary has been included in recent stories in Bloomberg, The Guardian and The Conversation.
Before becoming Dickinson’s 30th president, Jones served as chief judge of the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania. He was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2002.
Jones is also a member of the Article III Coalition, a group of nearly 60 retired federal judges from both major political parties who focus on the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary and who want to see an end to political vitriol against judges. Named for the constitutional article establishing the judicial branch, the coalition is part of Keep Our Republic, a nonpartisan civic education organization committed to the vitality of America’s democracy.
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Published April 20, 2026