DrWebRetired judges warn that the rule of law is unraveling – AI image by WP.
Nancy Gertner served as a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts from 1994 to 2011. (Rod Lamkey / AP)Retired judges warn that the rule of law is unraveling – The Washington Post
In interviews, former state and federal judges warn that democracy’s guardrails may already be weakened as the rule of law begins to falter.
November 28, 2025 at 5:00 a.m. EST, Today at 5:00 a.m. EST, 11 min
When the White House blasted a federal judge as “partisan” for dismissing the criminal cases against former FBI director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James this week, it was an attack that has become common in President Donald Trump’s second term.
For many retired federal and state supreme court judges, it was another example of the president’s assault on the judiciary and further erosion of the rule of law.
In a dozen interviews with The Washington Post, former judges and one soon-to-be-retired judge described a judiciary under incredible strain and its integrity threatened by partisan attacks, antagonistic rhetoric from public officials and ambiguous decisions handed down by the nation’s highest court.
Many judges said the politicization of judges, the Supreme Court’s expanding use of emergency dockets and sustained criticism from the Trump administration have pushed the courts and democracyto a fragile tipping point — one where cooperation with rulings and adherence to the rule of law can no longer be assumed.
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“There’s not a person in our country that, whether they think about it or not, does not depend upon the ability of these fundamental rights and liberties to be protected in an action in court if there is someone who violates that,” said Paul Grimm, a retired judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
The consequences, judges warn, are already becoming visible in who’s willing to serve as a jurist, global shifts in judicial norms and the types of justice the U.S. system can still deliver.
Read more: Retired judges warn that the rule of law is unraveling – AI image by WP.
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