Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts warns against disrespecting law enforcement

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a warning on Tuesday that the United States must maintain its “legal independence” just weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Roberts outlined his concerns in his annual report on federal judges.

“It’s not in the nature of the judiciary to make everyone happy. Most cases have a winner or a loser. All executives experience defeat in the court system—sometimes in cases with major executive or legislative ramifications or other important topics,” Robert wrote in the 15-page report. “Nevertheless, over the past few decades, court decisions, liked or disliked, have been followed, and the Tribes have avoided the conflicts that plagued the 1950s and 1960s.”

“Over the past few years, however, elected officials across the political spectrum have expressed an attitude of disregard for federal court decisions,” Roberts said, without naming Trump, President Biden or any particular attorney. “These dangerous proposals, however occasional, must be resoundingly rejected. Judicial independence must be preserved. As my late colleague Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote, an independent judiciary is ‘essential to the rule of law in any country,’ yet it is ‘vulnerable.’ you are there to work without neglecting to ensure its preservation.’

“I urge all Americans to appreciate this legacy from our next generation and appreciate its resilience,” said Roberts.

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Roberts also quoted Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, who noted that the three branches of government “must work together effectively” to “make possible the effective operation of a department of government designed to protect the impartiality of the judiciary and the independence of the interests of liberty. .”

“Our political system and economic power depend on the law,” Roberts wrote.

The landmark Supreme Court immunity ruling authored by Roberts, along with another high court decision halting efforts to remove Trump from the election, was seen as a major victory in the Republican nominee’s road to victory. The immunity decision was criticized by Democrats such as Biden, who later called for term limits and an enforcement code of conduct following criticism of undisclosed travel and gifts from wealthy benefactors to other judges.

A number of Democrats and one Republican lawmaker urged Biden to ignore a Trump-appointed judge’s decision to revoke FDA approval of the abortion drug mifepristone last year. Biden refused to take executive action to override the decision, and the Supreme Court later granted the White House time to allow drug sales to continue.

The Supreme Court will meet in Washington, DC, on Feb. 5, 2024. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

A majority of the high court also ruled last year that Biden’s massive efforts to forgive student loans constituted an illegal use of executive power.

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Roberts and Trump clashed in 2018 when the chief justice reprimanded the president for dismissing a judge who rejected his asylum policy as an “Obama judge.”

In 2020, Roberts criticized the comments of Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York while the Supreme Court was considering an abortion case.

Roberts introduced his book on Tuesday by telling a story about King George III imprisoning colonial judges for life, an order that “was not well received.” Trump is now preparing for a second term as president with an ambitious past plan, which is likely to be challenged legally and end up before a largely conservative court that includes three of Trump’s first-term appointees.

In the annual report, the Chief Justice wrote in general that even if the court’s decisions are not acceptable or show the defeat of the president’s administration, other government agencies must be willing to use them to ensure the rule of law. Roberts pointed to the Brown v. The Board of Education undermined the schools in 1954 as requiring law enforcement under the resistance of southern rulers.

Chief Justice John Roberts, left, and Associate Justice Samuel Alito sit as they and other members of the Supreme Court sit for a group photo at the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

He also said that “attempts to threaten judges with their decisions in cases are inappropriate and should be vigorously opposed.”

While public officials and others have the right to criticize decisions, they should also be aware that their statements “could cause dangerous reactions in 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 killed in their homes in 2022 and 2023, Roberts wrote.

“Violence, intimidation, and disrespect directed at judges because of their work undermines our Republic, and is completely unacceptable,” he wrote.

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Roberts also described disrespect for court decisions as a threat to judicial independence, saying social media could increase distortions and be exploited by “hostile foreign state actors” to fuel division.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.