HWS News
24 October 2025 Midnight in the Justice System
During the Stern Family Forum, journalists with conflicting views - Hugh Hewitt and Ruth Marcus - confronted the cost of fear in the justice system.
Despite their sharply different political perspectives, conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt and liberal columnist Ruth Marcus found common ground on several pressing issues — from the erosion of public trust in the judiciary to the moral courage required of those who serve within it. Drawing on decades of mutual respect as Washington, D.C. journalists, their conversation was a model of candid, civil engagement on some of the most politically sensitive topics in modern history.
CBS’ 60 Minutes correspondent and HWS Trustee Bill Whitaker ’73, L.H.D. ’97, who moderated the event, stated the problem at hand to a packed Vandervort Room.
“Public confidence in the courts has fallen to historic lows. Judges are increasingly viewed through a partisan lens, their rulings parsed not just for legal reasoning but for political leanings.”
Whitaker went on to list the problems of judge shopping — the strategic filing of cases before sympathetic judges and court stacking, the practice of changing the number of justices on a court to alter its ideological balance.
At the same time, he noted, judicial independence is challenged by direct threats and intimidation. “And inside the system: case backlogs, under funding and uneven access to justice continue to strain resources and erode trust,” Whitaker said.
The panelists agreed there was a problem—just not on the extent of it.
“(The courts) just need to be brought back to a much more modest role that the chief justice described as being the umpire in the baseball game,” Hewitt said
“Ruth is afraid… I don't want to put words in your mouth…,” Hewitt started.
“Go ahead. I’ll put some in yours I’m sure,” Marcus joked.
“That the strike zone is expanded, to borrow the judge's [Judge and Honorary Trustee Herbert J. Stern ’58, P’03, LL.D. ’74]analogy from lunch, so that the Republicans always throw strikes and the Democrats never throw strikes,” he continued.
A constitutional law professor, author and host of The Hugh Hewitt Show, Hewitt responded to a question about how to restore integrity to the justice system and motivate young lawyers to become prosecutors.
“We don't pay prosecutors very much money, and it's dangerous,” Hewitt said. Longtime Washington Post writer, editor and columnist Ruth Marcus agreed.
Both panelists pointed to former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr as an example of how U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche should approach their responsibilities today.
“There is a remarkable and disturbing tendency among liberal law students these days, which is maybe the majority of law students...to avoid becoming prosecutors. They don’t think it’s the righteous job that you and I think it is,” Marcus said to Hewitt. “They are opposed to the carceral state. I think there is a pre-existing problem, and I think the failure of Attorney General Bondi and Todd Blanche to have the spine and honor that Bill Barr did is only going to make that so much worse.”
“It’s early,” Hewitt interjected.
“No, it’s late,” Marcus replied. “It’s midnight.”
Their pointed but respectful banter reflected the hour-and-a-half conversation, which included:
- Ethical challenges facing judges and threats to judicial independence
- Concerns about the weaponization of the justice system for political purposes
- The personal safety of judges and the impact of threats on judicial function
- The role of civil discourse in addressing political differences
President Mark D. Gearan opened the forum recalling his 50-year friendship with Hewitt, his Harvard roommate.
“Candidly, we have had years and decades of disagreement. I have not particularly convinced him of anything, and I don’t think he’s convinced me of anything,” Gearan said.
But those disagreements built an enduring trust and respect that made a lifetime of honest dialogue possible, Gearan said, encouraging students to cultivate similar ties.
The Stern Family Forum was created for moments like this: to promote open, informed and respectful dialogue on important and often divisive issues. It was established through the generosity of Honorary Trustee Herbert J. Stern ’58, P’03, LL.D. ’74, and his son, Trustee Samuel A. Stern ’03, who thanked the audience for the impressive turnout to this, the fourth Forum.
“Seeing the standing-room-only crowd here just validates all the hard work that goes into this, how it’s valued and how necessary it is,” Sam Stern said. He told the audience they could expect to see the panelists agree when they agree and disagree when they don’t — but with the kind of respect we should emulate.
Stern recalled the Forum’s inaugural event in 2022 and the message of Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Bret Stephens: for a healthy democracy, we must cultivate a willingness to engage in disagreement and challenge our own assumptions. “It’s that process of agreeing and disagreeing and building on each other’s thoughts,” Sam Stern said. “That’s the cornerstone of a liberal arts education and what this school is all about.”
Top: CBS' 60 Minutes correspondent and HWS Trustee Bill Whitaker '73, L.H.D. '97 leads a discussion on the American judicial system with journalists Ruth Marcus and Hugh Hewitt during the Stern Family Forum.
