Branching out

A lexander Hamilton described the courts as the least dangerous branch of government.

- David Harvey

They had neither soldiers nor money to enforce their decrees. Like all public institutions, the courts rely for their continued acceptance and legitimacy on the trust and confidence of the community. Trust and confidence in institutions is perhaps not as high as it used to be. 

The services that we expect from institutions, especially the government and public service, seem to be lacking. As commentator Bruce Cotterill put it in the Herald on March 16, "We're no longer fit for purpose. Our infrastructure and our services are at breaking point."