Federalist Paper #10 [paragraph 8]*

8              No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause.  His interest would bias his judgment and probably corrupt his integrity.

                For even greater reasons, a group of men are unfit to be both judges and litigants at the same time.  Yet legislative acts are basically judicial determinations, not about the rights of individuals, but about the rights of groups of citizens.  Yet legislators are both advocates and parties to the causes they determine.

                If a proposed law concerns private debts, creditors and debtors are the parties.  Justice should balance between them.  Yet legislators, who are both creditors and debtors, are the judges.  The most numerous group or, in other words, the most powerful faction will prevail.

                Should foreign manufacturers be restricted to support domestic manufacturers?  Landowners would say no; manufacturers would say yes.  Neither would probably use justice and the public good as their only guide.

                Determining the amount of taxes on different types of property requires impartiality.  Yet no legislative act has a greater opportunity and temptation for the majority party to trample on the rules of justice.  With every dollar they overburden the minority party, they save a dollar in their own pockets.