Former Maine chief justice among dozens calling for judicial independence

As political attacks on the nation’s courts intensify, a former Maine chief justice is joining dozens of his peers in a public effort to defend the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.

Daniel E. Wathen, who previously headed the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and led the state commission that investigated the Lewiston mass shooting, is among more than 40 former state chief justices participating in the newly launched Alliance of Former Chief Justices, an initiative announced by the nonpartisan civic organization Keep Our Republic on Monday.

The launch coincided with Bill of Rights Day, celebrated annually on Dec. 15 to commemorate the ratification of the first ten amendments, which ensure various protections that rely on the court system for enforcement. 

In an open letter, the justices warned that conflating the judiciary with partisan politics threatens constitutional balance. Citing President James Madison’s warning that concentrating government power “may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny,” the former justices said that courts exist outside of partisan systems, but in the current moment have been the target of mounting political pressure, evident through increasing attacks on judges.

“I’m concerned about the state of our government and the respect and understanding of the importance of the rule of law,” Wathen said in an interview with Maine Morning Star. “It’s really under stress now like I’ve never seen in my lifetime.”

The letter emphasizes that judges cannot take political sides while keeping their oath to provide equal justice to all. 

Some people “with strong policy views” might resort to attacking judges in the hope of influencing their rulings or convincing the public that the judiciary is just another political branch, but “assertions that judges are mere politicians in robes … undermine the integrity of the rule of law and threaten the promise of equal justice,” the letter said.

In recent months, threats, violence and targeting of federal judges, some of whom have been directly criticized by President Donald Trump and members of his administration, have skyrocketed, according to data from the U.S. Marshals Service, the agency tasked with providing security to the federal judiciary. 

Several immigration judges in New York City have been fired by the administration, a Wisconsin judge was arrested by the FBI and is now facing trial, and  a judge in Rhode Island received death threats after blocking Trump’s freeze on federal aid.

Judges’ decisions may not always be received well, but there is an appeals process in place for challenging those, Wathen said.

“It’s not to call for the impeachment of the judge, and it’s not to call for violence against the judge,” he said.“But often in the world of today, violence is threatened or in few cases, it’s actually carried out.”

The declining respect for the judiciary and judges is predominantly still a federal issue, Wathen said, but it is a matter of time until it trickles down to the state level.