ABSTRACT

The term "independence" is generally used to characterize the relationship of the judiciary to other institutions or agencies. An independent judge is one who is not under the influence or control of someone else. The tension between popular sovereignty and judicial independence is most pronounced where judges are appointed by the executive and have life tenure, as is true of the federal judiciary in the United States. Judges enjoying a hefty measure of independence may be no more committed to the preservation of free and open debate than military officers who are similarly insulated from politics. Independence is assumed to be one of the cardinal virtues of the judiciary, but in a democracy it must be acknowledged that too much independence may be a bad thing. Independent to an important degree, the federal judiciary is nonetheless tied to the political branches in ways that sometimes constrict its independence and other times enhance it.