Constitution and Judicial Independence Prevail

• Citation: Vol. 38 No. 3 Pg. 11
• Year: 2025
• Pages: 11

Constitution and Judicial Independence Prevail Vol. 38 No. 3 Pg. 11 Utah Bar Journal May 2025

President’s Message

by Cara Tangaro

When each of us took the oath required to become a member of the Bar, we swore to "support, obey and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Utah." As a profession that spends our days analyzing the laws passed by the legislative branch and the rules passed by the executive branch and then debating their application and constitutionality in front of the judicial branch, we are, perhaps, as sensitive as any group to the importance of the checks and balances embodied in the constitutions of the State of Utah and the United States.

We are fortunate that we practice in a state that chose to replicate a similar structure of checks and balances as those found in the federal constitution. The importance of this balance was well thought through by the framers of the Constitution - their focus on the importance of maintaining an independent judicial branch is particularly poignant at this moment in time.

With impressive foresight, in the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton laid out the importance of separate and independent functions in each branch.

The Executive not only dispenses the honors but holds the sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated. The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments....

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 from that quarter; I mean so long as the judiciary remains truly distinct from both the legislature and the Executive. For I agree, that "there is no liberty if the power of judging is not separated from the legislative and executive powers."

The Federalist No. 78 (Alexander Hamilton), quoting Montesquieu The Spirit of the Laws, Vol I Bk. 11 Ch. 6 (1748).

Tills separation of the various powers is at the core of the American process that protects the rights of every citizen. An important concept for each of us to embrace, is the need to publicly respect the role of each branch and work within...