What would happen if you found out that the judge hearing your case had taken an all-expenses-paid vacation to, say, Amelia Island Plantation with your adversary? Sadly, as Carol D. Leonnig reports, the answer is nothing ["New Rules for Judges Are Weaker, Critics Say," news story, Dec. 17].

Between 1992 and 1998, over 230 federal judges -- or more than a quarter of the federal judiciary -- traveled to resorts at the expense of private interests with a stake in federal litigation.

Under the pretext of "educating" judges about complex legal issues, some of the nation's worst polluters and their allies wined and dined these judges in such places as the Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, S.C.; the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort & Spa in Arizona; and the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla. And the public, including the parties opposing these companies in court, didn't know about it.

The Judicial Conference has made it clear that judges are unwilling to police themselves. It is up to Congress to step in and restore some semblance of responsibility and impartiality among our judiciary.

JAMES C. TURNER
Executive Director

SUZANNE M. MISHKIN
Associate Counsel

The writers are with HALT—An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform
Washington, D.C.