Retired US Supreme Court justices Michael P Donnelly and Robert F Orr have broken with judicial tradition to speak out publicly, warning that the rule of law in America is under threat. In an exclusive account, they reveal how a bus tour through the Midwest, inspired by Polish judges' resistance to political interference, convinced them that silence is no longer an option.
From Warsaw to Wooster: The Inspiration
Last October, a group of US lawyers, judges, and rule-of-law advocates visited Warsaw as guests of the Carter Center. They returned with stories of Polish judges who faced surveillance, smear campaigns, prosecution, and even imprisonment for defending judicial independence. The Polish example culminated in the 'March of 1,000 Robes', where judges marched through Warsaw and then traveled to towns and villages to explain the importance of independent courts to ordinary citizens.
That lesson, Donnelly and Orr argue, is directly applicable to the United States. 'Judicial independence cannot survive merely because judges believe in it,' they write. 'The public must understand why it matters.'
The Justice in Motion Tour
Last month, shortly after the US celebrated its 250th birthday, the Justice in Motion tour traveled from western Pennsylvania through Ohio and into Michigan. Thirty sitting and retired judges, lawyers, and advocates participated, handing out pocket constitutions and engaging with students and communities. In Columbus, Ohio, the group did something unprecedented: they put on their judicial robes and marched from the federal courthouse to the Ohio Supreme Court, carrying purple flowers, an international symbol of judicial independence.
'American judges do not ordinarily march in the streets,' the authors acknowledge. 'Nor should they. The judiciary derives much of its legitimacy from restraint.' But they argue that these are no ordinary times, and that silence carries its own risk.
A Nonpartisan Defense of the Rule of Law
The march was not about partisan politics. Donnelly, a Democrat, and Orr, a Republican who later became an independent, have disagreed on many issues throughout their careers. Yet they unite on this fundamental principle: the rule of law is not a partisan possession. Both sides enter a courtroom with the right to be heard, and judges must apply the law without regard to political power or popularity.
When judges get it wrong, the answer is appeal, legislation, or constitutional amendment—not intimidation, retaliation, or defiance of court orders. 'Once adherence to judicial decisions depends upon whether the politically powerful agree with them, we have left the rule of law behind,' they warn.
Why the Rule of Law Matters in Everyday Life
In Wooster, Ohio, about 150 people gathered to discuss these issues. The conversation focused on practical implications: the rule of law ensures bank deposits are safe, contracts are honored, property is protected, and individuals can challenge the government in court. These protections seem ordinary only because past generations built strong institutions to make them so.
The authors stress that judges are trained to exercise restraint and speak through their rulings, a tradition essential for maintaining confidence in an impartial judiciary. But they insist that 'restraint should not be confused with silence about the survival of the institution itself.' When judges are threatened, when adverse decisions are met with demands for retaliation, and when courts are seen as legitimate only when they produce politically desired outcomes, those who understand the system have an obligation to explain what is being lost.
A National Movement Takes Shape
The tour's purpose was modest: to begin conversations, one community at a time, about institutions Americans have taken for granted. The authors believe this work belongs to all citizens, not just judges and lawyers. 'The rule of law is not something judges possess. It is something citizens inherit,' they write. 'And every generation must decide whether to preserve it.'
Both justices express hope for the future. Orr notes the 'scope of individuals and groups now focusing and talking about the rule of law and the independence of our judiciary,' including the young people who amplified the message across media platforms. Donnelly cites the 'genuine appreciation we encountered during the bus tour for the role of an independent judiciary in protecting individual rights and civil liberties,' adding that people understood these freedoms 'cannot be taken for granted – and that each generation must be willing to stand up for them.'
