Respect the offices of the judiciary

Before President Donald Trump calls a member of the federal judiciary a “so-called judge” because he disagrees, the president should consider:

James Madison, Founding Father, a writer of the Federalist Papers and the fourth U.S. president: “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”

Andrew Jackson, whose troops defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans, and the seventh U.S. president: “All the rights secured to the citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing, and a mere bubble, except as guaranteed to them by an independent and virtuous judiciary.”

Caroline Kennedy: “The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have an independent judiciary, judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing.”

And, from me, a personal observation: If the president expects his office to be respected, the president should respect the offices of the judiciary.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 4:54 AM with the headline "Respect the offices of the judiciary."