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But one way or another, judges perform a very vital function in our society. They have a risky job and they are entitled to security.

Though the critics are loud and the temptations to join them may be many, mark me down too as a believer that the traditional account of the judicial role Justice Scalia defended will endure.

Unfortunately, what many people forget is that judges are just lawyers in robes.

Judges are appointed often through the political process.

I own that it is a good deal of a mystery to me how judges, of all persons in the world, should put their faith in dicta. A brief experience on the bench was enough to reveal to me all sorts of cracks and crevices and loopholes in my own opinions when picked up a few months after delivery and reread with due contrition.

All judges have cases that touch our passions deeply, but we all struggle constantly with remaining impartial.

Judges are real people with real-world experiences and backgrounds. We cannot expect them to erase their experiences and backgrounds from the mindset that informs their judicial decision-making.

What is it that makes us trust our judges? Their independence in office and manner of appointment.

I do not think that we should select judges based on a particular philosophy as opposed to temperament, commitment to judicial neutrality and commitment to other more constant values as to which there is general consensus.