"It has been thought that the people..." - Quote by Thomas Jefferson
It has been thought that the people are not competent electors of judges learned in the law. But I do not know this to be true, and, if doubtful, we should follow principle.
More by Thomas Jefferson
“An individual, thinking himself injured, makes more noise than a State.”
“Who then can so softly bind up the wound of another as he who has felt the same wound himself.”
“Our minds were circumscribed within narrow limits by an habitual belief that it was our duty to be subordinate to the mother country.”
More on Democracy
“A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.”
“In a democratic nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.”
“We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.”
More on Judiciary
“Any judicial nominee who has said that the Constitution means what it says, not what judges would like it to mean, is going to be called an 'extremist.' That person will be said to be 'out of the mainstream.' But the mainstream is itself the problem.”
“The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".”
“An independent judiciary does not mean judges independent of the Constitution from which they derive their power or independent of the laws that they are sworn to uphold.”