But one of my colleagues, Justice Stephen Breyer, has written a book about making a democracy, in which he argues that our decision-making is there to ensure that people continue to respect the judiciary. Opinion-writing is our way of explaining to the public why the law requires what it does. That is educational, but it also serves another function—ensuring the legitimacy of the courts, that we are not a monarchy, we are not making up rules, we are following the law as we the justices best understand it.
