CBA Record January-February 2024

• essential for the proper functioning of the rule of law to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their status or posi tion, are subject to the law, to promote fairness and equality. • a safeguard for the protection of individual rights and lib erties. Individuals seek legal remedies when their rights are violated, and the independent judiciary ensures that justice is dispensed impartially. • validation that judges are free from external pressure and can make decisions based on the law and the facts presented in each case, creating a perception and a reality of impartiality and fairness in the legal system. • a bolster of public confidence in the legal system. When we believe that judges are free from political interference and external influences, we are more likely to trust the judiciary and the decisions it renders. • crucial for the preservation of democratic principles, to pre vent the abuse of power, corruption, and erosion of those values by ensuring that the legal system operates indepen dently of political pressures. • a stabilizing force by providing consistent and predictable interpretations of the law. This stability is important for the functioning of a legal system and for businesses and individu als who need to rely on the law to plan their actions. • a r eliable mechanism for the peaceful resolution of disputes, avoiding the temptation for parties to resort to self-help or extra-legal means to settle their grievances. • a key guardian of human rights. Independent courts are

better positioned to adjudicate cases involving human rights violations and ensure that justice is served without political interference. These are many of the particularly important reasons we have taken action locally, nationally, and internationally. The CBA will continue to be a leading voice on this issue because the indepen dence of the judiciary is a cornerstone of a functioning and fair legal system. As President of the CBA, I invite you to join us in speaking out for the integrity of the judicial system and judicial independence. Our efforts will succeed only if we speak out, stand up, and use our privilege as legal professionals to defend our democracy wher ever and whenever it is under political attack, even when doing so may cause personal discomfort. We must follow the lead of the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who devoted many years after her retirement from the Court to the promotion of judicial independence. Reportedly in response to what she deemed to be her regrettable decision in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 536 U.S. 765 (2002), she devoted her retirement years to the idea that a functioning democracy requires the people – all people – to have faith that judges rule on cases based on the merits of those cases, and not political views or other personal biases. As Justice O’Connor once stated: “Commitment to the rule of law provides a basic assurance that people can know what to expect whether what they do is popular or unpopular at the time.” We must honor that commitment.

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