Sam Smith
- Your editor has noted how different his mornings and early afternoons
feel next to the hours that follow. Starting in the morning I report the grim
story of where America is going these days. But when I’m done I soon realize
that I’m living in Maine and how different that feels. Which is why this piece
by a former Maine chief justice struck me.
Daniel
Watham, Maine Morning Star - As we approach the 250th anniversary of
the Declaration of Independence, it is worth reflecting not only on what the
Founders rejected, but on what they tried to build. They objected to arbitrary
power, to laws imposed without meaningful representation, and to courts
dependent on political authority rather than justice. In the Declaration, they
accused King George III of undermining colonial legislatures and making judges
dependent on his will alone.
Those
grievances were not historical footnotes. They were warnings. The Founders
understood that liberty requires more than inspiring words. It requires
institutions, laws, checks and balances, and citizens willing to defend them.
Our system has
never been perfect. The promise of equality and self-government announced in
1776 was denied to many Americans for far too long. But the genius of the
American experiment is that each generation has been called to make the country
more faithful to its founding principles.
That work
continues today.
Here in Maine,
the institutions of self-government are not abstractions. They are made up of
people in our own communities: local officials who administer elections, judges
who apply the law, clerks who maintain public records, lawyers who help resolve
disputes, jurors who weigh evidence, and citizens who participate in civic
life. These institutions may not always make headlines, but they are the
backbone of our republic.
Our republic
depends on trust — not blind trust, but earned trust. Citizens have every right
to ask questions, demand transparency, challenge decisions through lawful
means, and expect accountability from those who serve the public. But our
republic cannot endure if every institution is presumed illegitimate simply
because it produces an outcome we dislike.
As a former
chief justice of the Maine Supreme Court, I have seen this work up close.
During nearly twenty five years on the bench and thirty four years in private
practice, I saw firsthand how much our constitutional system depends on the
steady, often quiet work of people who serve their communities. Our republic is
sustained not only by founding ideals or public speeches, but by citizens and
public servants who take their responsibilities seriously: following the law,
respecting established procedures, weighing respecting established procedures,
weighing evidence, correcting mistakes when they occur, and accepting lawful
outcomes even when they are disappointing or politically inconvenient.
The rule of law
is what separates self-government from raw power. Courts do not exist to favor
one party, one candidate, or one public official. Judges do not serve a
political cause. Election administrators do not serve a political cause. Public
servants, judges, and local officials swear oaths not to personalities, but to
constitutions, laws, and the people they serve.
