Protecting our independent judiciary.

• Author: Angones, Francisco R.
• Position: President's page

"Judicial Independence--Freedom from direction, control, or interference in the operation or exercise of judicial powers by either the legislative or executive arms of government." Legal Words Dictionary, Reed International Books

As we move into May, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Law Day, a vision of American Bar Association President Charles S. Rhyne in 1957, designed to celebrate our legal system. Law Day was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 and became part of the United States Code (Title 36, [section] 164) through a congressional resolution in 1961.

In a 1958 radio broadcast, Charles Rhyne spoke about the first Law Day: "In these days of soul-searching and re-evaluation and inventorying the basic concepts and principles brought on by the expansion of man's vision to the new frontiers and horizons of outer space, we want the people of the world to know that we in America have an unshakable belief in the most essential ingredient of our way of life--the rule of law.... It has afforded protection to the weak, the oppressed, the minorities, the unpopular."

This year's Law Day theme, "The Rule of Law: Foundation for Communities of Opportunity and Equity" invites us to contemplate the fundamental importance of an independent judiciary as the foundation of the sound justice system envisioned--and fought dearly for--by this country's founding fathers.

There are several keys to an independent judiciary. Its decisions and judgments must be respected by the legislative and executive branches, and its appropriations must be adequate. Both the courts and individual judges must be free to issue balanced and unbiased decisions free from personal, political, or economic pressures, the law their only authority.

In her April 2005 message, the president of the Santa Clara County Bar Association in California, Julie Emede, wrote of her concern about a "Judiciary Under Attack." "Without the judiciary exercising its proper role, it may have taken decades longer (if ever) to eliminate segregation; the ban against inter-racial marriage; laws prohibiting blacks from voting and entering into professions such as law and medicine; and laws prohibiting women from voting, holding property in their own name, and entering into professions such as law and medicine. All of these legal rights, just to name a few, had been and likely...