The War on Judicial Immunity
A fiery editorial from the Everett Labor Journal challenges the 'aristocracy of power' wielded by the judiciary, arguing for the right of the public to recall judges.
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A judge, evidently, is a canonized lawyer, a sacred, sainted thing against whom no evil may be spoken, and who, in turn, can do no wrong. Judges make gross mistakes sometimes, and it is even hinted that there have been judges who have placed their office at the disposal of those individuals or corporations best able to pay for the privilege of using it. The great sanctity of the judge has been repeatedly shown at the recent meeting of the American Bar Association. It is plain that there has never been a crime of worse nature than that of the recall of judges. Yet the dastardly idea seems to grow in favor. We have no hereditary house of lords in this country, but the judges themselves are striving hard to create a far more privileged class made up wholly of themselves. Today they actually constitute an aristocracy of power beyond criticism, and they seek to make it beyond a possibility for the people to remove a man no matter how corrupt he may be.
“We have no hereditary house of lords in this country, but the judges themselves are striving hard to create a far more privileged class made up wholly of themselves.”
The tension between an independent judiciary and democratic accountability remains a foundational conflict in American politics. This editorial reflects the Progressive Era's deep skepticism toward concentrated power and legal elitism.
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