It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government, each with some independence and some control over the other two. That’s set out in the Constitution.

O’Connor is underscoring the Constitution’s structural design: separation of powers paired with checks and balances. Her emphasis on “enormously” signals that democratic stability depends not only on elections and rights, but on institutions that prevent any single branch from dominating. “Some independence” points to each branch’s distinct constitutional role (legislating, executing, adjudicating), while “some control” evokes mechanisms like judicial review, legislative oversight, impeachment, appointments, and vetoes. The quote reflects O’Connor’s long-standing public defense of judicial independence and civic education about constitutional structure as a safeguard against partisanship and concentrated power.