Published on 10/7/2007

To begin addressing the central question at hand, I believe that Americans do want an independent judiciary, although many may not know it. My statement reflects the fact that many Americans are of two minds about the judiciary. Several national public opinion surveys conducted by the American Bar Association, the National Center for State Courts, and the Justice at Stake campaign, as well as other state-specific surveys, show that Americans want judges who are free from political influence.However, at the same time, many people favor judicial decisions that reflect their political preferences and values, and many express a desire to hold judges more directly accountable to the public.The root cause of these conflicting and malleable attitudes towards the judiciary, I believe, is a fundamental lack of knowledge. Too many Americans are uneducated about our system of government, and particularly about the constitutionally prescribed roles and responsibilities of the judicial branch. . . . [for full article click the PDF below]