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JUDGE (TO)
JUDGEMENT --- JUDGES
JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS
JUST DESSERTS --- JUSTICE

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JUDGE (TO)

see: "KNOWING (SOMEONE)"
see: "MORALITY"


If we cease to judge this world, we may
find ourselves, very quickly, in one which
is infinitely worse.
--Margaret Atwood (1939— )
Canadian novelist and poet.

How good it would be if we could learn to be rigorous
in judgment of ourselves, and gentle in our judgment
of our neighbors! In remedying defects, kindness works
best with others, sternness with ourselves. It is easy to
make allowances for our faults, but dangerous; hard to
make allowances for others' faults, but wise.
--Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858—1901)
American clergyman.

We ought not to judge men by their absolute excellence, but by
the distance which they have traveled from the point at which
they started.
--Henry Ward Beecher (1813—1887)
American Congregational minister,
_Life Thougths_, p. 161

I shall tell you a great secret, my friend. Do not
wait for the last judgment. It takes place every
day.
--Albert Camus (1913—1960)
French novelist, dramatist, and essayist who won
the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature.
_The Fall_ [1956]

We are firm believers in the maxim that, for all right judgment of
any man or thing, it is useful, nay, essential, to see his good
qualities before pronouncing on his bad.
--Thomas Carlyle (1795—1881)
Scottish historian and political philosopher

You must look into people as well as at them.
--Lord Chesterfield [Philip Dormer Stanhope] (1694—1773)
British writer and politician.

Observe a man's actions; scrutinize his motives;
take note of the things that give him pleasure.
How, then, can he hide from you what he really
is?
--Confucius (551—479 B.C.)
K'ung Ch'iu, Chinese philosopher.

You shall judge of a man by his foes as well as by his friends.
--Joseph Conrad [Teodor Józef Konrad Nalecz-Korzeniowski] (1857—1924)
Polish-born English novelist.
_Lord Jim_, 34 [1900]

We come to know best what men are,
in their worse jeopardies.
--Samuel Daniel (1562—1619)
English poet and dramatist.

A man is most accurately judged by how he treats those who
are not in a position either to retaliate or to reciprocate.
--Paul Eldridge (1888—1982)
American educator, novelist, and poet.
_Maxims for a Modern Man_, 1198 [1965]

Let none presume to measure the irregularities of
Michael Angelo and Socrates by village scales.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803—1882)
American philosopher and poet.
Representative Men: Seven Lectures, The Living Age,
vol. 26, issue 320 [6 July 1850].

We should not be too hasty in bestowing either our praise or censure
on mankind, since we shall often find such a mixture of good and evil
in the same character, that it may require a very accurate judgment
and a very elaborate inquiry to determine on which side the balance
turns.
--Henry Fielding (1707—1754)
English novelist and dramatist.

Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope.
--F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896—1940)
American novelist.
_The Great Gatsby_ [1925]

There is a a tendency to judge a race, a nation or any distinct
group by its least worthy members.
--Eric Hoffer (1902—1983)
American longshoreman, philosopher,
and author who received the Presidential
Medal of Freedom in 1982.
_The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements_, ch. 18 [1951]

Everything that is unconsious in ourselves we
discover in our neighbor, and we treat him
accordingly. . . . What we combat in him is
usually our inferior side.
--Carl Gustav Jung (1875—1961)
Swiss psychologist.
_Modern Man in Search of a Soul_ [1933]

Judge not, lest ye be judged judgmental.
--Florence King (1936— )
American journalist, essayist, and novelist.

Most people judge others simply by how
prosperous or popular they are.
--François de La Rochefoucauld (1613—1680)
French classical author.
_Maxims_, 212

Men are not to be judged by their looks, habits, and
appearances; but by the character of their lives and
conversations, and by their works.--It is better to be
praised by one's own works than by the words of
another.
--Sir Roger L'Estrange (1616—1704)
English journalist and pamphleteer.

It is a golden rule not to judge men by their opinions
but rather by what their opinions make of them.
--Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742—1799)
German scientist and drama critic.

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing,
while others judge us by what we have already done.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807—1882)
American poet.
_Kavanagh_, ch. 1

-

It's great to be color blind, and ethnic blind, and
religious blind--but blind is blind. It means you
can't see. I'd rather see and then judge, as
opposed to cutting off the cognitive process quite
so early. Why suppress what separates us from the
lower forms of life that can't think and replace it
with modes of non-reason, like political correctness,
term limits or "zero tolerance?"

Look at the World War II posters: we used to be able
to trust our citizens to be our eyes and ears. But
then again, we used to have common sense, and hold
it in some esteem. Political correctness is almost
always the opposite of common sense.

It's what has us pretending at the airport that Ray
Charles is just as likely to blow up the plane as
the guy with the bin Laden lunchbox. I'm not saying
turn in everyone with an accent and a bad attitude--
we'd have no cab drivers. And I'm not suggesting
that the government monitor our every move and habit.
That's already being done by the credit card industry.

I'm just saying that it takes neighbors looking out
for neighbors, and a postman passing along the fact
that at 180 Maplewood, the seven addressees all
named Mohammed are building "something" in their
living room.

If it turns out to be just a pole for strippers they
get back to the house (the 72 virgins is more likely),
then at least we know they're just perverts, and not
terrorists. Like the lady said: it takes a village.

--Bill Maher (1956— )
American comedian and author.
_When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden_ [2002],
"Neighbors Looking Out For Neighbors"

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Judge thyself with the judgment of sincerity, and thou
wilt judge others with the judgment of charity.
--John Mason (c.1600—1672)
Military hero of the Pequot War.

We are all inclined to judge ourselves by our
ideals; others by their acts.
--Harold Nicolson (1886—1968)
English diplomat, politician, and writer. _Diary_

I admire men of character and I judge character not
by how men deal with their superiors, but mostly how
they deal with their subordinates. And that, to me,
is where you find out what the character of a man is.
--H. Norman Schwarzkopf, III (1934— )
American general who commanded the U.S. forces in the Gulf War of 1991.
_Journal-World_ [27 March 1991]

Other men's sins are before our eyes;
our own are behind our backs.
--Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 B.C.— 65 A.D.)
Roman philosopher and poet.

We measure the excellency of other men by some
excellency we conceive to be in ourselves.
--John Selden (1584—1654)
English historian.
_Table Talk_ [1689]

The only man who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes
my measure anew each time he sees me, while all the rest
go on with their old measurements and expect them to fit
me.
--George Bernard Shaw (1856—1950)
Irish comic dramatist, literary critic, Socialist
propagandist, and winner of the Nobel Prize
for Literature in 1925 [he didn't accept it.]

We do not judge men by what they are in themselves,
but by what they are relatively to us.
--Madame Swetchine [Sophie Soymanof] (1782—1857)
Russian-born French writer and salon hostess.

Human nature is so constituted, that all see and
judge better in the affairs of other men than in
their own.
--Terence [Publius Terentius Afer] (c. 190—159 BC)
Roman comic dramatist.

Our errors and our controversies, in the sphere
of morality, arise sometimes from looking on
men as though they could be altogether bad,
or altogether good.
--Marquis de Vauvenargues (1715—1747)
French moralist and essayist.

If you really want to judge the character of a man,
look not at his great performances. Every fool may
become a hero at one time or another. Watch a man
do his most common actions; these are indeed the
things which will tell you the real character of a
great man.
--Vivekananda (1863—1902)
Hindu spiritual leader and reformer.
_Swami Vivekananda on Universal Ethics and Moral
Conduct_ {Comp. by Swami Ranganathananda} [1965].

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Kind thoughts are rarer than either kind words or kind
deeds. They imply a great deal of thinking about others.
This in itself is rare. But they also imply a great deal of
thinking about others without the thoughts being
criticisms. This is rarer still.
--unknown
In _Bible Review_, p. 551 (ed. H.E. Butler) [1923].



JUDGEMENT

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see: "CRITICISM"
see: "DECISIONS"
see "SUCCESS" for other related links


Except among those whose education has been
in the minimalist style, it is understood that
hasty moral judgments about the past are a
form of injustice.
--Jacques Barzun (1907- )
French-born American writer, educator, and cultural historian.
_From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western
Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present_ [2000]

It is well, when one is judging a friend, to remember
that he is judging you with the same godlike and
superior impartiality.
--Arnold Bennett (1867-1931)
English novelist.

Judge not, that ye be not judged.
--Bible
Matthew 7:1

Many factors contribute to who we become as
human beings: our genes, our maturation, our
unique biological potentials and limitations, our
life experiences and the conclusions we draw
from them, the knowledge and information
available to us, and, of course, our premises or
philosophical beliefs, and the thinking we choose
to do or not to do. And even this list is an
oversimplification. The truth, is we are far from
understanding everything that goes into shaping
the persons we become, and it is arrogant and
stupid to imagine that we do.
--Nathaniel Branden,
_The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand_

Nor is the people's judgment always true:
The most may err as grossly as the few.
--John Dryden (1631-1700)
English poet, critic, and dramatist,
_Absolam and Achitophel_ [1681]

Distrust your judgement the moment you can discern
the shadow of a personal motive in it.
--Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916)
Austrian writer,
_Aphorisms_, p. 74. [1880-1905]

Many Germans, women in particular, used to
descant to me upon the radiance of [Hitler's] expression
and his remarkable eyes. I must confess he never gave
me any impression of greatness. He was a spellbinder
for his own people. To the last, I continued to ask
myself how he had risen to what he was and how he
maintained his ascendance over the German people.
--Sir Nevile Henderson (1882-1942)
British ambassador in Berlin [1937-1939],
(declaring himself baffled by the appeal of the Führer.

Few things feel finer than havin' our judgement vindicated.
--Frank McKinney (Kin) Hubbard (1868-1930)
American humorist,
_Abe Martin: Hoss Sense and Nonsense_, p.126 [1926]

Judgment is forced upon us by experience.
--Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
English poet, critic, and lexicographer

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Everyone complains of his memory, and no
one complains of his judgment.
--François de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)
French educator and social reformer,
_Reflections; or, Sentences and Moral Maxims_ [1678];
maxim 89

We rarely find that people have good sense
unless they agree with us.
--François de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)
French educator and social reformer,
_Reflections; or, Sentences and Moral Maxims_ [1678];
maxim 347

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You are young and have the world before you; stoop as
you go through it, and you will miss many hard bumps.
--Cotton Mather (1663-1728)
American Congregational minister and author,
advice to Benjamin Franklin upon approaching a low hanging
beam in his parsonage.

He who has more knowledge than judgment is
made for another man's use more than his own.
--William Penn (1644-1718)
Quaker leader and advocate of religious
freedom who oversaw the founding of
the American Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers
and other religious minorities of Europe {E.B.}

Judgement is to be made of actions in according to
the times in which they were performed.
--Plutarch (A.D. 46?-119?)
Greek philosopher and biographer,
"Poplicola and Colon Compared"
_Parallel Lives_, Dryden edition [1693]

There is no escape from the fact that men have
to make choices; so long as men have to make
choices, there is no escape from moral values;
so long as moral values are at stake, no moral
neutrality is possible. To abstain from condemning
a torturer, is to become an accessory to the torture
and murder of his victims. The moral principle to
adopt in this issue, is: "Judge, and be prepared
to be judged."
--Ayn Rand (1905-1982)
Russian-born American writer,
_The Virtue of Selfishness_, [1964]
"How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society?",
originally printed in "The Objectivist Newletter" [April 1962]

A man never discloses his own character so
clearly as when he describes anothers.
--Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825)
German novelist

The number of those who undergo the fatigue
of judging for themselves is very small indeed.
--Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816)
Anglo-Irish dramatist,
_The Critic_ [1779], act I, sc. 2

You must look into people, as well as at them.
--Philip Dormer Stanhope (1694-1773) 4th Earl of Chesterfield
English statesman and author

Enthusiasm for a cause sometimes warps judgment.
--William Howard Taft (1857-1930)
27th President of the United States [1909-1913]
and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court [1921-1930].

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acumen (noun)
The ability to make quick accurate intelligent
judgments about people or situations.

judicious (adj.) [ju-'di-shês]
Wise in a particular instance, showing sound judgement.
"Judiciously" is the adjective and "judiciousness," the
noun. The near synonym, "prudent," implies judicious
restraint.

sagacious suh-GAY-shus, adjective:
Of keen penetration and judgment; discerning
and judicious; knowing; shrewd; wise.




Click picture to ZOOM
JUDGES

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see "CRIME & PUNISHMENT" for related links


^

Re: The Nuremberg Trials
Judge: Britain's Sir Norman Birkett

He had come to Nuremberg already famous in London courts
for his sharp wit. With his red hair peeking out from under his
judicial wig, he once offered a minor criminal his last words
before the bench.
'As God is my judge', said the man, 'I'm innocent.'
'He isn't, I am, and you aren't,' replied Birkett.

--In Walter Cronkite (1916— )
American broadcast journalist.
_A Reporter's Life_ [1996]

^

Biggest damnfool mistake I ever made.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890—1969),
American Army General, supreme Allied commander WWII,
NATO commander, American President [1953—1961].
Recalling his 1953 appointment of Earl Warren
as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Oons, Sir! do you say that I am drunk? Sir, that
I am as sober as a judge.
--Henry Fielding (1707-1754)
English novelist and dramatist.
_Don Quixote in England_, 3.14 [1734]

-

Judges are apt to be naif, simple-minded men, and
they need something of Mephistopheles. We too
need education in the obvious--to learn to transcend
our own convictions and to leave room for much that
we hold dear to be done away with short of revolution
by the orderly change of law.
--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841—1935)
Justice of the United States Supreme Court,
legal historian, and philosopher.
"Law and the Court" [1913], in _Collected Legal Papers_


We do not inquire what the legislature meant; we ask
only what the statute means.
--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841—1935)
Justice of the United States Supreme Court,
legal historian, and philosopher.
"The Theory of Legal Interpretation" Harvard Law Review [25 January 1899]

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We have to remember that we have to make
judges out of men, and that by being made
judges their prejudices are not diminished
and their intelligence is not increased.
--Robert Green Ingersoll (1833—1899)
American politician and orator know as "the great agnostic."
Speech in Washington, D.C. [22 October 1883].




JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

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There is a principle which is a bar
against all information, which is
proof against all arguments and
which cannot fail to keep a man
in everlasting ignorance. That
principle is contempt prior to
investigation.
--Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
English philosopher




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JUST DESSERTS

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see "ACTIONS" for related links


The rain, it raineth on the just
And also on the unjust fella;
But mainly on the just, because
The unjust steals the just's umbrella.
--Charles, Baron Bowen

The meek shall inherit the earth but
not the mineral rights.
--J. Paul Getty (1892-1976)
American industrialist and founder of Getty Oil, (attributed)

Or maybe all that negativity was finally coming
home to roost. Most systems of magic or
mysticism have rules of conduct, things you
do and things you do not. The wiccans call it
the threefold law: what you do to others comes
back to you threefold. Buddhists call it karma.
Christians call it answering for your sins. I call
it what goes around comes around. It really
does, you know.
--Anita Blake, character in
_Obsidian Butterfly_, Laurell K. Hamilton

Jove weighs affairs of earth in dubious scales,
And the good suffers while the bad prevails.
--Homer (c. 850? BC)
Greek Epic Poet, _Odyssey_

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In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both
of these: a righteous man perishing in his
righteousness, and a wicked man living long in
his wickedness.
--Eccleciastes 7:15

There is something else meaningless that occurs
on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked
deserve, and wicked men who get what the
righteous deserve. This too, I say, is
meaningless.
--ibid 8:14

All share a common destiny--the righteous and the
wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the
unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who
do not. As it is with the good man, so with the
sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so
with those who are afraid to take them.
--ibid 9:2




JUSTICE

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see "CRIME & PUNISHMENT" for related links


An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,
a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.
--Bible, Exodus 21:24

It is better that ten guilty persons escape
than that one innocent suffer.
--Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780)
English jurist,
_Commentaries on the Laws of England_ [1765]

They preach that if you see a man flogging
a woman to death you must not hit him. I
would much sooner let a leper come near
a little boy than a man who preached such
a thing.
--G.K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton (1874-1936)
English essayist, novelist, and poet

I remind you, sir, that extreme patriotism in the defense
of liberty is no vice, and moderation in the pursuit of
justice no virtue.
--Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC)
Roman orator and statesman

All that we are is the result of what we have
thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is
made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks
or acts with an evil thought, pain follows
him, as the wheel follows the foot of the
ox that draws the carriage.
--_The Dhammapada_, c 3rdC BC (Buddhist religious scripture)

Hogan's r-right whin he says: "Justice is blind."
Blind she is, an' deef an' dumb an' has a wooden
leg.
--Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936)
American journalist and humorist,
_Mr. Dooley Discusses Party Politics_

One man's justice is another's injustice; one man's beauty
another's ugliness; one man's wisdom another's folly.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
American philosopher and poet,
_Essays_, First Series [1841], "Circles"

I would remind you that extremism in the
defense of liberty is no vice, and let me
remind you also that moderation in the
pursuit of justice is no virtue.
--Barry Goldwater (1909-1998)
U.S. conservative politician

If this is justice, I am a banana.
(on the libel damages awarded against
"Private Eye" to Sonia Sutcliffe)
--Ian Hislop (1960- )
English satirical journalist,
comment [24 May 1989]

It is more dangerous that even a guilty person
should be punished without the forms of law
than that he should escape.
--Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
American statesman and president [1801-1809],
in a letter to William Carmichael [27 May 1788]
{Jefferson was discussing a group of armed
people acting to prevent the lynching of a
physician accused of robbing graves - GBAQ}

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
--Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)
American civil rights leader,
letter from Birmingham Jail, Alabama [16 April 1963]

An ex-consul has been deliberately murdered by a
slave in his own home. None of his fellow-slaves
prevented or betrayed the murderer, though the
senatorial decree threatening the whole household
with execution still stands ... Exemplary punishment
always contains an element of injustice. But
individual wrongs are outweighed by the advantage
of the community.
--Gaius Cassius Longinus,
in M.J. Cohan and John Major {eds.} _History in Quotations_ [2004].
Cohan & Major note that:
When Pedanius Secundus, the city prefect, was murdered
by one of his slaves in AD 61 the ancient custom that all
household slaves should be executed was challenged by
the populace. In a debate in the senate Longinus won the
day with his arguments in favour of applying the full rigour
of the law. The crowd tried to prevent the execution from
being carried out, and detachments of soldiers had to be
brought in to ensure that the 400 slaves could be taken to
their execution.

There is a destiny that makes us brothers,
None goes his way alone;
All that we send into the lives of others,
Comes back into our own.
--Edwin Markham (1852-1940)
American poet and lecturer,
_A Creed_ [1900]

Anon: How can justice be secured in Athens?
Solon: If those who are not injured feel as
indignant as those who are.
--Solon (630?-560? B.C.)
Athenian lawmaker and Lyric poet
In Earl Warren, "The Law and the Future", _Fortune_ [November 1955]

Fairness, n. That impartiality and equity of
treatment that everyone approves of, so long
as their own interests are not threatened.
--Edmund H. Volkart (1919- )
_The Angel's Dictionary: A Modern Tribute to Ambrose Bierce_,
p.78 [1986]

It is better to risk saving a guilty person
than to condemn an innocent one.
--Voltaire (François Marie Arouet) (1694-1778)
French writer and philosopher,
_Zadig_ [1747], ch. 6, tr. H.I. Woolf [1949]

If someone rapes a boyar's [member of the old aristocracy's]
daughter or a boyar's wife [then he is to pay] 5 grivnas [coins]
of gold for the dishonour, and 5 grivnas of gold to the bishop;
and if she be [a daughter or a wife] of lesser boyars 1 grivna
of gold, and 1 grivna of gold to the bishop ... [if she be a
daughter or wife] of common people, 15 grivnas [of fur] to
her and 15 grivnas [of fur] to the bishop.
--Yaroslav I {Yaroslav the Wise} (980-1054)
Grand prince of Kiev,
in M.J. Cohan and John Major {eds} _History in Quotations_ [2004]

-

TOPICAL

The Threat to Judicial Independence
by Sandra Day O'Conner
_The Wall Street Journal_ [27 September 2006]

In November, South Dakotans will vote on a state constitutional amendment being advocated by a national group called "JAIL 4 Judges." If the amendment passes, it would eliminate judicial immunity, and enable a special grand jury to censure judges for their official legal determinations. Although the amendment's supporters claim they seek a "judicial accountability initiative law" (JAIL), they aspire to something far more sinister -- judicial intimidation. Indeed, the national Web site of JAIL 4 Judges boasts with striking candor that the organization "has that intimidation factor flowing through the judicial system."

It is tempting to dismiss this proposed amendment as merely an isolated bout of anti-judge angst. But while the JAIL 4 Judges initiative is unusually venomous, it is far from alone in expressing skepticism of the judiciary. In addition to South Dakota, this election cycle has witnessed efforts in at least three other states that are designed to rein in judges who have supposedly "run amok."

Not to be completely outdone, Congress also has engaged in recent efforts to police the judiciary. Seeking to constrain the legal sources that are available to judges, some members of Congress have advocated measures that would forbid judges from citing foreign law when they are interpreting the Constitution. In addition, bills have been introduced in both houses of Congress supporting the creation of an inspector general to investigate and monitor the federal bench. Finally, the House of Representatives passed legislation over the summer that would prohibit the Supreme Court from considering whether the Pledge of Allegiance's inclusion of the words "under God" violates the First Amendment.

* * *

Directing anger toward judges enjoys a long -- if not exactly venerable -- tradition in our nation. President Thomas Jefferson, for instance, was a particularly spirited antagonist of judges appointed by the Federalists. Moreover, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to increase the number of Supreme Court justices because the court invalidated several pieces of New Deal legislation. And I can distinctly remember seeing lawns and highways across the country that featured signs demanding the impeachment of Chief Justice Earl Warren.

But while scorn for certain judges is not an altogether new phenomenon, the breadth and intensity of rage currently being leveled at the judiciary may be unmatched in American history. The ubiquitous "activist judges" who "legislate from the bench" have become central villains on today's domestic political landscape. Elected officials routinely score cheap points by railing against the "elitist judges," who are purported to be of touch with ordinary citizens and their values. Several jeremiads are published every year warning of the dangers of judicial supremacy and judicial tyranny. Though these attacks generally emit more heat than light, using judges as punching bags presents a grave threat to the independent judiciary.

Troublingly, attacks on the judiciary are now being launched by judges themselves. Earlier this year, Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker excoriated his colleagues for faithfully applying the Supreme Court's precedent in Roper v. Simmons, which prohibited imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed by minors. Offering a bold reinterpretation of the Constitution's supremacy clause, Justice Parker advised state judges to avoid following Supreme Court opinions "simply because they are 'precedents.'" Justice Parker supported his criticism of "activist federal judges" by asserting that "the liberals on the U.S. Supreme Court . . . look down on the pro-family policies, Southern heritage, evangelical Christianity, and other blessings of our great state."

It should come as no surprise that the increased scapegoating of the judiciary has coincided with an increase in anger directed toward individual judges. In the last decade, threats and inappropriate communications directed toward the federal bench have more than quadrupled. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, complaints about such behavior were being logged at a record-setting pace this year. And while it is encouraging that Congress recently set aside funds for federal judges to have home security systems installed, it is deeply dispiriting that the demand for the systems among the judges was so high. Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was quite right when he observed, "Judges must be free to make judicial decisions without the fear of physical harm to themselves or to members of their families."

Given the escalating criticism that is leveled at judges, it seems appropriate to bear in mind the reasons that the Framers initially established an independent judicial branch. In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton explained why, in our constitutional system, "the complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential." Hamilton contended that the judiciary needed to be distinct from the legislative and executive branches because that was the best way to guarantee "a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws." Hamilton also believed that judicial independence was necessary in order to safeguard against "injury of the private rights of particular classes of citizens, by unjust and partial laws." It is well worth remembering that, far more often than not in modern times, the judiciary has admirably performed these two vital tasks: checking the other two branches and protecting minority rights.

An independent judiciary does not mean, of course, that it is somehow improper to criticize judicial decisions. To the contrary, it is a healthy sign for democracy that the public is engaged with the workings of the judicial system. Judges can -- and do -- sometimes render erroneous decisions, but that is why appeals are allowed to higher courts. Moreover, judges can be -- and are -- subjected to discipline for legitimate reasons. Members of the judiciary cannot sincerely believe that they should be regarded as above the very laws that they are charged with interpreting. Ours is, after all, a nation of laws, not men -- or even women.

Nonetheless, we must be more vigilant in making sure that criticism does not cross over into intimidation. Judges and lawyers certainly play essential roles in opposing attacks on the judiciary. Indeed, later this week, I -- along with Justice Stephen Breyer -- am co-chairing a conference on judicial independence at Georgetown University Law Center. But the legal community needs help from other sectors of society to ensure that the current mood of cynicism does not end up compromising the rule of law. This includes members of the business community. Adam Smith, writing in "The Wealth of Nations," well understood the importance of an independent judiciary: "[U]pon the impartial administration of justice depends the liberty of every individual, the sense which he has of his own security." Without judicial independence, Smith warned, "it is scarce[ly] possible that justice should not frequently be sacrificed to what is vulgarly called politics."

More broadly, of course, all of society has a keen interest in countering threats to judicial independence. Judges who are afraid -- whether they fear for their jobs or fear for their lives -- cannot adequately fulfill the considerable responsibilities that the position demands. In these challenging and difficult times, we must recommit ourselves to maintaining the independent judiciary that the Framers sought to establish.

Justice O'Connor is a retired associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.


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