Article III Coalition

Keep Our Republic’s Article Three Coalition is comprised of retired federal judges appointed by Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama. The Coalition’s judges are dedicated to American democracy, the rule of law, and the separation of powers between three co-equal branches of government. The Coalition’s expertise, impartiality, and neutrality will strengthen America’s democracy by invigorating an informed citizenry through education on the Constitution and its norms, the rule of law, the role of the judiciary and its independence, and the importance of the separation of powers.

“The judiciary must be a check on the passions of the people and the power of the legislature.”

Ben Franklin

“There is no liberty, if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers.”

Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper 78.

“The very basis of our individual rights and freedoms is the certainty that the President and the Executive Branch of Government will support and [e]nsure the carrying out of the decisions of the Federal Courts…[u]nless the President did so, anarchy would result.”

President Eisenhower
(in regard to enforcing Brown v. Board, despite his personal opinion)

“Liberty can have nothing to fear from the judiciary alone, but would have every thing to fear from its union with either of the other departments.”

Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper 78

“I believe the American people will reject the politicization of our judiciary. When the people begin to hear the truth, they will demand an independent judiciary, free from high pressure politics and founded on the principle of judicial restraint.”

President Ronald Reagan

“The framers of the Constitution were so clear in the federalist papers and elsewhere that they felt an independent judiciary was critical to the success of the nation.”

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

AN OPEN LETTER FROM AMERICA’S FORMER FEDERAL JUDGES

As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, the role of our federal judiciary faces increasing scrutiny. Our founders envisioned a nation of laws, premised on three separate and coequal branches of government. For nearly two-and-a-half centuries, this structure of our constitutional democracy has served as a beacon of light at home and abroad.

We, as former members of the federal judiciary, care deeply about our Constitution and our Country. While the debate over the metes and bounds of each branch is older than the Republic itself, the need for an independent judiciary, free from coercion, has never been questioned. As Alexander Hamilton reminded his countrymen, “there is no liberty, if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers.”

The approaching semiquincentennial is surely a time for reflection on these founding principles, but it is also a time for action. Although we come from different corners of America and have been appointed by Presidents of both parties, we former members of the third branch are ready for our third act.

We pledge not only to keep our Republic, but to strengthen it. To defend the rule of law. To protect the independence of the judiciary. To kindle and inspire an informed citizenry. And to dedicate ourselves to the unending duty of protecting our sacred democracy.

For the light of a democracy is not doused, but its unstoked flames can weaken and become faint. We call on all our former colleagues to join us in tending to our democracy through the Article III Coalition.

Sincerely,

Keep Our Republic’s Article III Coalition:

Judge Michael Burrage – Formerly of the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Northern & Western Districts of Oklahoma
Judge Robert J. Cindrich – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Judge Andre M. Davis – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland & U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Judge Bernice B. Donald – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee & U.S Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Judge Gary E. Feess – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Judge Jeremy D. Fogel – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Judge Royal Furgeson, Jr. – Formerly of the U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Texas & Northern District of Texas
Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Judge Irma E. Gonzalez – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
Judge Andrew J. Guilford – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Judge Faith S. Hochberg – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
Judge Richard J. Holwell – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Judge John E. Jones III – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
Judge George H. King – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Judge Robert B. Kugler – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey & the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
Judge Timothy K. Lewis – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania & U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Judge Beverly B. Martin – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia & U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Judge John S. Martin – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Judge A. Howard Matz – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Chief Judge Paul R. Michel – Formerly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Judge Margaret M. Morrow – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Judge Liam O’Grady – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia & the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
Judge Kathleen M. O’Malley – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio & U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Judge Stephen M. Orlofsky – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
Judge Layn R. Phillips – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
Judge Philip M. Pro – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada
Judge David S. Tatel – Formerly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Judge John Daniel Tinder – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana & U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Judge Ursula M. Ungaro – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Judge Paul J. Watford – Formerly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Judge Diane P. Wood – Formerly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Judge Lee Yeakel – Formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

Click below to download the A3C Public Letter

[A3C Public Letter.pdf]