Judicial Independence: A Cornerstone of Democracy Which Must Be Defended

Any perceived threat to judicial independence should summon the legal profession to action. Lawyers must constantly remind themselves that judicial independence is critical to a free society and must educate others who may have lost sight of that. Lawyers must recognize genuine threats to judicial independence and, when they arise, call attention to them and confront them. This paper was published in 2006: please see the later companion piece titled The Need to Promote and Defend Fair and Impartial Courts.