Judge Robert H. Henry: Hamilton, civic duty and why an independent judiciary matters

Judge Robert H. Henry delivered the keynote at a symposium on the rule of law, tracing the origins of an independent judiciary to the framers and urging citizens and institutions to sustain public trust.

Henry opened with Alexander Hamilton and Federalist No. 78, arguing that the framers’ design of judicial review and an independent judiciary was essential to commerce and political stability. He said the judiciary’s role is not merely technical but civic: “We know the rule of law when we see it. And more importantly, we know it when we don’t see it,” Henry said, using historical examples to distinguish formal rules from the broader civic practices that sustain legal order.

The former judge recounted Montesquieu’s influence and the Federalist–anti‑Federalist debates, framing courts as institutions that enable markets and protect liberties. He pointed to longstanding legal touchstones—Magna Carta’s chapter 39 and the Federalist Papers—as part of a living tradition that judges must interpret with restraint and principle.

Henry also described civic responses to local hate crimes in Oklahoma as a concrete example of law and community acting together. Recounting his convening of faith leaders after desecrations at places of worship and cemetery vandalism, he said legal remedy and organized civic action are complementary tools for protecting pluralistic communities.

He concluded by urging attendees to remember that judicial independence depends on public support and professional integrity, and he turned the program over to a panel convened to discuss threats to judges and practical strategies for defending the courts.

The symposium continued with a panel discussion of threats to the judiciary and institutional responses.