This panel will examine the role of chief justices in semi-democratic judicial systems. The global expansion of judicial power has seen a concomitant expansion of court presidents‘ powers. But to date there is no systematic efforts to compare or theorize the new powers and roles of these judicial leaders and their effects on judicial empowerment. Are court president‘s protecting judicial autonomy or undermining it through their clientelist networks? Is it possible to have a strong, autonomous chief justice within a weak judiciary? What is the role, if any of professional judicial/legal norms in shaping the behavior of chief justices? When do court presidents reach out to allies, when do they go it alone? This panel will seek to answer these questions through analysis of three different case studies: Venezuela, Russia, and Slovakia. Each contribution will illustrate the importance of analyzing the judiciary in terms of formal and informal institutional rules and behavior.