Independent Judicial System

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“The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have an independent judiciary, judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing.” Caroline Kennedy, along with the founders of our nation, believes that to truly establish a just federal court system, we must create a branch of the government that is held accountable to the law and not the enticing-yet corrupted-motives of the public. While electing federal judges may appear to be the more “democratic” option that allows public participation in judiciary matters, it would inevitably lead to the moral degradation of the judicial system corrupting it with political agendas, economic incentives, and power plays. Federal judges must remain …show more content…
“The judiciary is beyond comparison the weakest of the three departments of power; that it can never attack with success either of the other two; and that all possible care is requisite to enable it to defend itself against their attacks. It equally proves, that though individual oppression may now and then proceed from the courts of justice, the general liberty of the people can never be endangered.” (Hamilton, Fed 78) As stated by Alexander Hamilton, it is vital that the judiciary branch be independent in its control to ensure that it will not be pressured by various elements of the government. In an attempt to avoid these pressures, the founders rejected legislative veto and prohibited congress’s control of the salaries to guarantee no economic coercion in decisions of the courts. Should federal judges be elected, they will be subject to multiple influences- some that may even be within the government itself.
The judicial branch serves the purpose of representing the legal foundation of the entire nation-not just the ideals of an elite few. As James Madison states, if men were angels no government would be necessary, and the judicial branch would not need to remain an independent branch of the government. However, it is the corruption behind the election process that would not only rid the judiciary division of its independency, but it would leave the system subject to the biased decisions of the public which would hinder the end result of

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