He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.


A significant charge made against King George III in the declaration of independence was related to the independence of the judiciary. The charge against the king states “he has made judges dependent on his will alone of the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.” In essence, this charge points to the injustice of the fact that judges depended on the crown for their continued employment and salaries. The result of this dependency was that the judges were more likely to rule in favour of the crown to protect their careers.

When the Declaration of Independence was drafted, George III no longer had the power to exercise control over English courts, but could still do so over American courts.1 Many colonists had a difficult understanding why judicial independence was necessary for the proper implementation of justice in England, but the same did not apply to the American colonies.2
Massachusetts provides an excellent example of strong feelings of injustice resulting from judicial dependence on the crown. As a result of the Townsend Act, the crown began paying the salaries of the judges in Massachusetts.3 This was viewed by the people of Massachusetts as a great injustice, and was seen as an attack of Massachusetts’s judicial sovereignty.4 Judges were now viewed as employees of the imperial government in England, rather than unbiased officials enforcing American laws. It was seen as an attempt to establish a firm hand over the colonies.5 The situation climaxed when the people of Massachusetts discovered that the crown was paying the salaries of judges in their highest courts.6

In a separation with Britain, it is clear that the American people wanted to establish a judicial system in which judges could preside over proceedings without needing to worry about changes in their salaries, or termination of their employment. The idea of judiciary independence is so important, that it is eventually incorporated into the constitution of the United States of America, in the “Judicial Tenure and Salary protection clauses.”7 This clause established that judges were to be appointed for lifelong terms and could only be removed from their positions through an impeachment process, and also by guaranteeing that the salaries of judges could not be reduced.8

1 Martha A Ziskind, “Judicial Tenure in the American constitution: English and American Precedents,” The Supreme Court Review 1969 (1969): 135.
2 Barbara A Black, “Massachusetts and the Judges: Judicial Independence in Perspective,” Law and History Review 3 (1985): 109.
3 Ibid, 102.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 Peter M Shane, “Who May Discipline or Remove Federal Judges? A constitutional Analysis,” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 142, no 1 (1993): 209.
8 The Federal Judiciary, “A History of Judicial Independence,” http://www.uscourts.gov/outreach/resources/judicialindependence/history.html (accessed October 13, 2007).

Deborah Howse