It adds that the judiciary is part of the government and has a "basic political requirement" to "be patriotic".
An independent judiciary is part and parcel of our unique democracy, and the key to the promise of equal justice under law.
The merit selection system, which is used to pick supreme court justices in 16 states, including Colorado, Iowa and Kansas, was established to reduce politics' influence on the composition of the judiciary, in part by avoiding the expensive and bitter campaigns seen in states where two candidates compete.
He could so easily choose not to bully and threaten the Supreme Court and other judges and prosecutors, recognizing that an independent judiciary is part of a flourishing democracy.
Although the constitution provides for independent judges and lay assessors (who lack administrative training), the United States Department of State maintains that Vietnam lacks an independent judiciary, in part because the Communist Party selects judges and vets them for political reliability.
The strength of the judiciary plays a part, too.
The elected president, elected parliament and judiciary were made part of a theocracy whose ultimate authority was a "supreme leader" -- a cleric who controls the police, the military and other institutions of power.
Mr. Leahy also noted that 22 million missing e-mail messages from the Bush White House were recovered just two months ago, including batches of communications that had been sought by the judiciary committee as part of its oversight work into the 2007 firings of United States attorneys and other matters.
The justice said that cameras would affect his behavior in the courtroom and warned that the judiciary isn't "part of the entertainment industry".
"Montana has a conservative electorate, but a Massachusetts judiciary, in large part because of state censorship laws enabling left-wing judicial candidates to masquerade as moderate," Monforton said.
