“The most sacred of the duties of a government [is] to do equal and impartial justice to all citizens.” – Thomas Jefferson,  Note in Destutt de Tracy, “Political Economy,” (1816)

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This statement comes down to the reasonable expectation of the rule of law and the principle of equality. The courts and all aspects of the law are to endeavor toward neutrality and transparency and remain focused on the maintenance and steady pursuit of liberty. Though the phrase rule of law has become tainted with lawfare and other abuses of the legal processes, we must remain fixed on it as an aspiration for our nation and world. Democratic processes, even in the republic, that is, the United States, cannot effect the necessary reforms needed if we do not first endeavor to base these processes on the rule of law equally and impartially.

This embodies Aristotle’s governments, established and ruled under law, not individuals’ arbitrary and capricious whims. This is to say that law should be publicly promulgated, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated. A nation’s governance must be consistent with human rights norms and standards. Adherence to the principles of supremacy of law, equality before these laws, and accountability to our nation’s laws must be maintained.