Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a warning on Tuesday that the United States must preserve “judicial independence” just weeks after President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
Roberts outlined his concerns in his annual report to the federal judiciary.
“It's not the type of judicial profession to please everyone. Most cases have a winner and a loser. Every system suffers from defeat in the court system—sometimes in cases that have consequences. large for executive or legislative power or other important topics,” Robert wrote in the 15-page report. However, over the past several decades, court decisions, whether popular or not, they have been followed, and the Society has avoided the conflicts that plagued the 1950s and 1960s.
“However, over the past several years, elected officials from across the political spectrum have expressed disrespect for federal court decisions,” Roberts said, without naming Trump, President Biden or the creator. any legal. “These pernicious propositions, though they sometimes occur, must be logically rejected. Judicial independence must be preserved. As my late colleague Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote, the court of an independent judiciary which is 'essential to the law in any country,' however 'is vulnerable to attack;
“I encourage all Americans to appreciate this legacy from our founding generation and appreciate its perseverance,” Roberts said.
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Roberts also cited Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, who said that the three branches of government “must work in effective cooperation” to “enable the effective operation of the government department intended to protect impartiality of the courts and independence for the sake of freedom.
United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Chief Justice Sonia Sotomayor stand on the House floor before President Biden's annual State of the Union address before the joint session on March 7 2024. (Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)
“Our political system and economic power depend on the law,” Roberts wrote.
The Supreme Court is unique immunity decision written by Roberts, along with another high court decision halting efforts to remove Trump from the election, were hailed as major victories on the Republican nominee's path to winning the election. The immunity decision was criticized by Democrats such as Biden, who later called for time limits and ethics rules to be implemented after criticism of undisclosed visits and gifts from wealthy individuals. good for other judges.
Several Democrats and one Republican lawmaker urged Biden to ignore a Trump-appointed judge's decision to revoke FDA approval for abortions. drug mifepristone last year. Biden refused to take executive action to override that decision, and the Supreme Court later allowed the White House to stop allowing the sale of the drug to continue.
The Supreme Court will meet in Washington, DC, on February 5, 2024. (MANDEL LE/AFP via Getty Images)
A majority of the high court ruled last year that Biden's massive effort to forgive student loans was an illegal exercise of executive power.
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Roberts and Trump clashed in 2018 when the chief justice reprimanded the president for criticizing a judge who rejected his immigration policy as an “Obama judge.”
In 2020, Roberts criticized comments made by the Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York as the Supreme Court considers a high-profile abortion case.
Roberts introduced his letter on Tuesday by recounting a story about King George III stripping colonial judges of their lifetime appointments, an order that was “not well received.” Trump is now preparing for a second term as president with a personal agenda, parts of which could be legally challenged and end up before a court whose majority includes three justices. appointed by Trump during his first term.
In the annual report, the chief justice wrote in general that even if the decisions of the court are unpopular or mark the defeat of the presidential administration, other branches of government must be willing to enforce them to ensure that the law is governed . Roberts pointed to the Brown v. The Board of Education declassified the schools in 1954 as requiring government action despite opposition from southern governors.
Chief Justice John Roberts, left, and Chief Justice Samuel Alito sit as they and other members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill on Friday 7 Oct. 2022 Washington, DC (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
He also said that “attempts to intimidate judges for their decisions in cases are inappropriate and should be strongly opposed.”
Although public officials and others have the right to criticize the decisions, they should also be aware that their statements may “raise the harmful feelings of others,” Roberts wrote.
Threats against federal judges have more than tripled in the past decade, according to statistics from the US Marshals Service. Federal court judges in Wisconsin and Maryland were assassinated in their homes in 2022 and 2023, Roberts wrote.
“Violence, intimidation and intimidation directed at judges because of their work undermines our Republic and is completely unacceptable,” he wrote.
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Roberts also pointed to the lack of information about court rulings as a threat to judicial independence, saying social media could fuel incentives and even be used by “hostile foreign actors” to exacerbate divisions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.