India, Nov. 14 -- US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued a stark warning regarding the structural vulnerability of the federal judiciary, cautioning that a hostile or aggressive legislative majority possesses the budgetary tools to effectively "turn off the lights" at the nation's highest court.

Speaking before an audience of conservative lawyers and jurists at the Federalist Society's annual Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner, Alito mounted a robust defence of judicial independence while detailing the precise constitutional mechanisms that leave the judicial branch exposed to political leverage.

Although Article III of the Constitution explicitly protects federal judges by prohibiting Congress from reducing their salaries while in of...