Brief of the New Civil Liberties Alliance as Amicus Curiae in Support of the Petitioner
The Constitution requires federal judges to exercise independent judgment and refrain from bias when interpreting the law. These are foundational constitutional requirements for an independent judiciary. Article III gives federal judges life tenure and salary protection to ensure that judicial pronouncements will reflect the judges’ independent judgment rather than the desires of the political branches. And the Due Process Clause prohibits judges from displaying any type of bias toward litigants when resolving disputes. These aspects of judicial
duty are so axiomatic that they are seldom if ever mentioned or relied upon in legal argument—because to even suggest that a court might depart from its duty of independent judgment or harbor bias toward a litigant
would be a scandalous insinuation.