U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, in a rare interview, denounced the idea of impeaching judges when political leaders disagree with their ruling.

President Trump and other MAGA leaders have proposed impeaching judges who disagree with the executive branch decisions. Their angst echoes that of Democrats’ complaints about conservative judges — and their musings about possible expanding the Supreme Court while President Joe Biden was in office.

We all learned in middle school about the three branches of government.

Nowadays, it seems the executive and legislative branch are almost Siamese twins. The judicial branch, meaning the U.S. Supreme Court and federal court systems, have always been an independent branch as they should be.

Founding fathers created our government so they would be equal branches of government. If we went to the food court of the mall and asked 100 people to name three of the nine Supreme Court justices, we doubt many people could. That’s OK. The Supreme Court has always acted in the background, not seeking publicity.

A federal judge is a lifetime appointment. Many Supreme Court justices stay until their late 80s. Should there be an age limit on a justice? That shouldn’t be the case — there are many lawyers who function quite well at an elderly age.

In the state of Ohio, state and local judges cannot serve past the age of 70. This is a bad law, likely created in retaliation for one or two judges who made rulings legislators disagree with.

During President Trump’s first term, he had the opportunity to appoint three justices to the Supreme Court. Many presidents have served two terms and been fortunate to only appoint one or two justices.

Chief Justice Roberts is likely putting the word out if he wants the judicial branch to be separate. We agree with him. In recent years, judges have been threatened because of their rulings. This must stop.

All of us can do minimal research and find a court ruling we disagree with. The answer lies within the legislative branch to pass laws that are constitutional and are enforceable.

— From Tribune News Service