Separation of powers a 'gift'

The separation of powers within the United States' government — which is of its most beneficial and successful doctrines — is actually based on the cynical proposition that all people are potentially corrupt, says a Utah appeals court judge.

"President Abraham Lincoln recognized the temptation for even good men to be negatively affected by too much power when he said: 'Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power,' " Utah Court of Appeals Judge

Carolyn McHugh told a luncheon audience at Little American Hotel Monday.

McHugh was the keynote speaker at the annual celebration of Law Day by Utah's legal community.

The U.S. Constitution is designed to never put anyone or anything to the test of being all-powerful, according to McHugh. Instead, the three separate branches of government — judicial, legislative and executive — have distinct and unique functions, are equally powerful, and also have checks and balances on each other.

McHugh described the balance of powers as "this amazing gift from our forefathers" and warned that tampering with it means risking "what makes us unique and, in my view, the greatest system of government ever created."

One particular power granted the courts is the right to be free from undue influence in decision-making, an idea especially dear to the founding fathers who knew first-hand how courts could not remain impartial if they were subject to dismissal or a cut in pay for unpopular decisions.

That might seem surprising in a democracy, McHugh said, but the United States is not a pure democracy in that the majority does not always get to make decisions. There are certain human or civil rights that are never given over by individuals to the government.

"The guardians of these individual rights are the courts," McHugh said. "The judicial branch is required to uphold the constitution in the face of inconsistent legislation or executive action, even if a majority of the country supports it. In that way, the courts stand as the last defense of each individual's rights."

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