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Connections
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
Connections

250 years later, is judicial independence crumbling?

By Evan Dawson,
Megan Mack, Julie Williams
Published May 1, 2026 at 3:55 PM EDT
Five smiling people wearing headphones sit around a table in a radio talk studio: a man front left has short gray hair and is wearing a blue collared shirt, a red tie, a black pullover, and grey pants; a man front center has short gray hair and a gray mustache and beard and is wearing glasses, a blue button-down shirt, a red and blue striped tie, and grey pants; a man at right has very short dark hair and is wearing a gray button-down shirt and jeans; a woman back left has short blonde hair and is wearing a red blouse under a black blazer; a man back right is bald and is wearing a collared shirt under a dark brown sweater and light brown jacket
Mary Hussong-Kallen
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WXXI News
(foreground) Richard A. Dollinger, John Ark, (background) Patricia D. Marks, and Joseph Valentino with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Friday, May 1, 2026
WXXI News

A group of retired judges is emphasizing the importance of judicial independence as America approaches its 250th birthday.

They say that criticism of judges is nothing new, but true judicial independence must be protected. They discuss how to do that.

In studio:

  • Hon. John Ark, retired New York State Supreme Court justice
  • Hon. Richard A. Dollinger, retired New York Court of Claims judge
  • Hon. Patricia D. Marks, retired Monroe County Court judge
  • Hon. Joseph Valentino, retired New York State Supreme Court justice 

Connections
Evan Dawson
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
See stories by Evan Dawson
Megan Mack
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
See stories by Megan Mack
Julie Williams
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.
See stories by Julie Williams