Judicial independence does not mean judges are above criticism. Court decisions should be scrutinized, debated, and sometimes sharply criticized. Judges make mistakes. Courts can get the law wrong.
But our constitutional system provides ways to answer those decisions: appeal them, seek review by a higher court, change the law where Congress has authority to do so, or, in extraordinary circumstances, amend the Constitution.
That is how a nation governed by law resolves disagreement. Threatening, harassing, or intimidating judges is something else entirely. So is teaching Americans that a court has authority only when its judgment favors their political side. The Constitution cannot function that way.
Alexander Hamilton famously described the judiciary as the “least dangerous” branch because courts controlled neither the nation’s purse nor its military power. The judiciary ultimately depends on something more fragile: confidence in its legitimacy and the willingness of the other branches and the public to respect lawful judgments, even while challenging them through lawful means. That confidence is being severely strained.
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