Sunnylands Classroom

Ask a U.S. Supreme Court Justice: Judicial Independence

Taped in May 2006, Supreme Court Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Anthony M. Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor joined high school students from California and Pennsylvania to discuss why we need an independent judiciary. Below are the questions they answered. Click on one to get a response from an actual U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

What Is Judicial Independence?

Ensuring a fair trial.

Protecting the rights of the minority.

Why is Judicial Independence important?

Making unpopular decisions.

On public pressure.

Checks on the judiciary.

Protecting Judicial Independence.

Making the Constitution work.

What judges do?

On the election of judges.

How the President reacts to Court decisions.

On the rule of law.

Why the rule of law is important.

Threats to Judicial Independence.

The thread of reprisals against judges.

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