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Judges must be free from political intervention or intimidation.

Judges should interpret the law, not make it.

The right of the judge to inflict punishment gives him both power and opportunity to oppress the innocent; yet none but crazy men will from thence determine that it is best to have neither a legislature nor judges.

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.

Judges need to restrict themselves to the proper resolution of the case before them. They need to avoid the temptation to set broad policy.

Nobody wants a judge to be subject to the political whim of the moment.

Judges are the weakest link in our system of justice, and they are also the most protected.

This is not to condone torture, which is still prohibited by the Torture Convention and federal criminal law.

Congress's definition of torture in those laws - the infliction of severe mental or physical pain - leaves room for interrogation methods that go beyond polite conversation.