Yes, judicial independence is supposed to be one of the sacred cornerstones of democracy. Fine words. But let’s not kid ourselves. We like to imagine the judiciary as some priestly caste, floating serenely above the fray, free of bias, party allegiance, or the petty human flaws that afflict the rest of us. That is mythology, not reality. Judges are human, and not just human—they are humans of a very particular breed.
They live on the comfortable end of the spectrum, shielded from the harsh winds of ordinary life. They are well-paid, well-insulated, well-fed, and basking in the prestige of their station. Whether it’s the small-town judge who dines with the local notables or the robed demigod of SCOTUS circulating in elite salons, they move in worlds that the average citizen never even glimpses. This insulation has consequences. It breeds detachment, makes them ripe for ideological contagions, and renders them strangely susceptible to totalitarian fantasies that would never gain traction among the “normies” scrambling to pay bills and keep the lights on.We pretend they are impartial. I’d wager they are more biased than the ordinary man in the street. Only their biases wear the perfume of authority, and that makes them all the more dangerous.