We know it when we don’t see it
In this Spokesman-Review guest opinion, former federal appeals judge Robert H. Henry and UW-Madison Staff Attorney Sterling Knoche argue that Americans recognize the rule of law mainly by noticing its absence — and that recent events, from warrantless searches and masked agents to defied court orders, signal exactly that absence. They note that the judiciary, as Hamilton observed, controls neither the military nor the budget, leaving judges poorly equipped to defend themselves; they cite a sharp rise in serious threats against federal judges, including hundreds directed at a Reagan appointee who ruled against a Trump executive order. Their conclusion is that upholding the rule of law is ultimately a civic duty belonging to ordinary citizens, not just to courts.