The Judges Are Becoming the Last Fence Posts

District court judges were never meant to be the stars of American democracy. But at the moment, they may be the plain wooden posts keeping the whole field from collapsing.

The sheep have been thinking about fence posts.

Not the glamorous parts of a field, the gate with the fresh paint, the sweeping hill, or the dramatic sky. The fence posts are the plain, splintered things hammered into the ground at regular intervals, holding tension while everyone else admires the scenery. Most days, no one notices them at all. But when …