---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Independent judges have always frustrated…"
description: "\"Independent judges have always frustrated governments that don't see why unelected arbiters of the law should stand in their way.\" — Anne Applebaum"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/anne-applebaum-2544_always_independent-judges-have-always-frustrate_262118.png"
---

#  Independent judges have always frustrated governments that…

![“Independent judges have always frustrated governments that don't see why unelected arbiters of the law should stand in their way.” quote by Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/anne-applebaum-2544_always_independent-judges-have-always-frustrate_262118.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/anne-applebaum-2544_always_independent-judges-have-always-frustrate_262118.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/anne-applebaum-2544_always_independent-judges-have-always-frustrate_262118.png)

> “Independent judges have always frustrated governments that don't see why unelected arbiters of the law should stand in their way.”

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Independent judges act as checks on governmental power, preventing unchecked authority.

**In simple terms:** Judges limit government power.

Key Takeaway

Support judicial independence.

Themes

law government checks and balances democracy

Mood

concerned analytical

Type

political legal

When to use this quote

- court rulings
- legislative oversight
- public policy
- human rights advocacy

Key Concepts

rule of law separation of powers accountability

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies protect judicial independence?
- What are risks of unchecked judicial power?

A Different Perspective

Judges can be politicized, reducing effectiveness.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Judges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judges/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/)

## Related quotes

> [I would like beautiful gymnastics to be recognized as the best. I want the judges to appreciate things that are not necessarily winning points.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kohei-uchimura/i-would-like-beautiful-gymnastics-to-be-recognized-as-the-best-i-want/)

[Kohei Uchimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kohei-uchimura/)

> [No one ever judges their own self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolk/no-one-ever-judges-their-own-self/)

[James Wolk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolk/)

> [It turns out umpires and judges are not robots or traffic cameras, inertly monitoring deviations from a fixed zone of the permissible. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/it-turns-out-umpires-and-judges-are-not-robots-or-traffic-cameras/)

[Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/)

> [I like to fight forward and do not leave it to the judges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicente-luque/i-like-to-fight-forward-and-do-not-leave-it-to-the-judges/)

[Vicente Luque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicente-luque/)

> [If you've ever noticed, beauty pageants are a lot like county fairs. The farmers show the cows the same way. They walk their prized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-argov/if-you-ve-ever-noticed-beauty-pageants-are-a-lot-like-county-fairs/)

[Sherry Argov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-argov/)

> [Most of us tend to be swayed by what we read. Judges are not superhuman. They, too, are mortals. This is why they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kapil-sibal/most-of-us-tend-to-be-swayed-by-what-we-read-judges-are-not/)

[Kapil Sibal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kapil-sibal/)

> [As I have consistently recommended, we desperately need to find more black judges, particularly females, who are chronically underrepresented in our courts across London…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lammy/as-i-have-consistently-recommended-we-desperately-need-to-find-more/)

[David Lammy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lammy/)

> [Just as the common law derives from ancient precedents - judges' decisions - rather than statutes, baseball's codes are the game's distilled mores. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/just-as-the-common-law-derives-from-ancient-precedents-judges/)

[George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/)

> [I am grateful that I live in a nation where most believe that one's punishment should fit their wrongdoing and that ours is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-rose/i-am-grateful-that-i-live-in-a-nation-where-most-believe-that-one-s/)

[Pete Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-rose/)

> [As any opera fan knows, lawyers and judges do not fare well in most operas. Just consider the productions of 'Andrea Chenier,' 'Aida, Norma,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-decrow/as-any-opera-fan-knows-lawyers-and-judges-do-not-fare-well-in-most/)

[Karen DeCrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-decrow/)

> [If people are stealing the resources of this nation, if people are taking bribes - if judges or persons in authority, whether they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yemi-osinbajo/if-people-are-stealing-the-resources-of-this-nation-if-people-are/)

[Yemi Osinbajo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yemi-osinbajo/)

> [Judicial abuse occurs when judges substitute their own political views for the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-s-smith/judicial-abuse-occurs-when-judges-substitute-their-own-political/)

[Lamar S. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-s-smith/)

> [Our Constitution was not written in the sands to be washed away by each wave of new judges blown in by each successive political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-black/our-constitution-was-not-written-in-the-sands-to-be-washed-away-by/)

[Hugo Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-black/)

> [Those who made and endorsed our Constitution knew man's nature, and it is to their ideas, rather than to the temptations of utopia, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bork/those-who-made-and-endorsed-our-constitution-knew-man-s-nature-and-it/)

[Robert Bork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bork/)

> [I think the four major leagues ought to set up a joint commission - say, of retired judges - to rule on athletes who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/i-think-the-four-major-leagues-ought-to-set-up-a-joint-commission-say/)

[Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/)

## More by Anne Applebaum

> [Quite a lot has been written, including by me, about the effect of social media on politics, and in particular the way in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/quite-a-lot-has-been-written-including-by-me-about-the-effect-of/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [After Trump became president, it was really too late to investigate his dodgy investments in Azerbaijan or his links to Russian money laundering. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/after-trump-became-president-it-was-really-too-late-to-investigate/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [If Reagan and John Paul II were linked by anything, it was a grand, ambitious, and generous idea of Western political civilization, one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/if-reagan-and-john-paul-ii-were-linked-by-anything-it-was-a-grand/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [Until the attack on Pearl Harbor, isolationism was an important, even dominant strand in U.S. politics. After the Second World War, this strand disappeared,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/until-the-attack-on-pearl-harbor-isolationism-was-an-important-even/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [The U.S.S.R. was a totalitarian state in which judges and prosecutors were controlled by the ruling party. The result was injustice, oppression and corruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/the-u-s-s-r-was-a-totalitarian-state-in-which-judges-and-prosecutors/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [One knows, of course, that Donald Trump behaves differently from the leaders of other countries, especially the leaders of other Western democracies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/one-knows-of-course-that-donald-trump-behaves-differently-from-the/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [As a nation, we are not good at long-term planning, and no wonder: Our political system insists that every president be allowed to appoint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/as-a-nation-we-are-not-good-at-long-term-planning-and-no-wonder-our/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [Amazingly, quite a few people, even some American conservatives, are taken in by Russian tactics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/amazingly-quite-a-few-people-even-some-american-conservatives-are/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [Like wealth, or health, political freedom may simply be something that people don't value if they've always had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/like-wealth-or-health-political-freedom-may-simply-be-something-that/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [Unlike most European countries, the police in the US are decentralized; even the FBI has regional offices. Amending the constitution is a long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/unlike-most-european-countries-the-police-in-the-us-are-decentralized/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [The hard truth is that Trump was not exceptional. He was just another amoral Western businessman, one of many whom the ex-KGB elite have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/the-hard-truth-is-that-trump-was-not-exceptional-he-was-just-another/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [Politics in Slovakia had long been a battle between egotistical men. Caputova sought to be the anti-ego alternative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/politics-in-slovakia-had-long-been-a-battle-between-egotistical-men/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [European security may now depend on Germany, France, Britain and one or two others, and it's better to start planning now for the possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/european-security-may-now-depend-on-germany-france-britain-and-one-or/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [Americans might not want to intervene in the outside world, but the outside world will still want to intervene in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/americans-might-not-want-to-intervene-in-the-outside-world-but-the/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [Romney was an excellent businessman with a strong record as a public servant - whereas Trump inherited wealth, went bankrupt more than once, created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/romney-was-an-excellent-businessman-with-a-strong-record-as-a-public/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

[Explore all 161 Anne Applebaum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

## More Always quotes

> [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/)

[Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/)

> [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/)

[Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/)

> [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/)

[Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/)

> [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/)

[William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/)

> [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/)

[Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/)

> [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/)

[Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/)

> [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/)

[Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/)

> [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/)

[Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/)

> [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/)

[Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/)

> [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/)

[Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/)

> [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/)

[Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/)

> [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/)

[Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/)

> [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/)

[Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/)

> [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/)

[Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/)

> [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/)

[Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/)

Browse all 36,048 Always quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Independent judges have always frustrated governments that don't see why unelected arbiters of the law should stand in their way.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anne Applebaum"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/independent-judges-have-always-frustrated-governments-that-don-t-see/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Always"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/independent-judges-have-always-frustrated-governments-that-don-t-see/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/anne-applebaum-2544_always_independent-judges-have-always-frustrate_262118.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/anne-applebaum-2544_always_independent-judges-have-always-frustrate_262118.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/anne-applebaum-2544_always_independent-judges-have-always-frustrate_262118.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Independent judges have always frustrated governments that don't see why unelected arbiters of the law…” — Anne Applebaum",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Anne Applebaum",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Independent judges have always frustrated governments...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/independent-judges-have-always-frustrated-governments-that-don-t-see/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/independent-judges-have-always-frustrated-governments-that-don-t-see/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
