The Third Leg of Democracy’s Stool is Breaking
Ellen Brady, MD | Published on 6/17/2026
The fundamental stabilizing premise of our government—that of three co-equal branches—is in jeopardy. Much has been written about an over-reaching Executive Branch and our do-nothing Congress. However, corruption and overt politicization of the Judicial Branch have dramatically weakened the third leg and the guardrails it provides.
Nationally, several factors contributed to a US Supreme Court that has upended decades of progress toward a “more perfect union.” These include the Federalist Society’s impact, Trump- appointed SCOTUS judges, the lack of ethical oversight for SCOTUS, and lifetime appointments.
The result has been radically conservative activist rulings that have destroyed fundamentals of our democracy: Citizens United, Dobbs, Trump v US, and most recently, Louisiana v Callais.
These rulings enabled “dark money” to corrupt elections, reversed a woman’s right to bodily autonomy, granted presidents blanket immunity, and gutted the Voting Rights Act, thereby allowing overtly partisan and racist gerrymandering.
In Utah, the dynamic reversed. The Legislature, upset by Utah Supreme Court rulings related to Better Boundaries and the “HB467-Trigger Law,” has worked to weaken our judiciary’s ability to check its legislative overreach. Brammer’s SB204 raised the bar for injunctions. This year, two justices were added to the Supreme Court over the Court’s objections and one was bullied into resigning. Additionally, a three-judge lower-court panel was created to deal with legislative and “constitutional” issues—again making it harder for courts to block legislative actions.
Much could be written about each example and the mirror image dynamics it highlights-- on one hand, SCOTUS rulings dramatically undermine democracy while, on the other, our Legislature has weakened the courts’ ability to check its legislative power—power too often used against the will of the people. In both cases, public pushback and the ballot box are our
remedies. Use them wisely--before free and fair elections are also gone.