Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts warned on Tuesday that the United States must continue to uphold “judicial independence.” The chief justice’s warning comes just prior to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration later this month.
In the 2024 Year End Report on the Federal Judiciary, Roberts expressed his concerns regarding the need for “judicial independence” to be maintained in the United States. Roberts warned that violence, disinformation, intimidation, and threats to defy lawfully entered judgments are “four areas of illegitimate activity” that he believes can “threaten the independence” of the nation’s judges.
Addressing threats faced by judicial officials, Roberts warned, “Violence, intimidation, and defiance directed at judges because of their work undermine our Republic, and are wholly unacceptable.”
“It is not in the nature of judicial work to make everyone happy. Most cases have a winner and a loser. Every Administration suffers defeats in the court system — sometimes in cases with major ramifications for executive or legislative power or other consequential topics,” Robert stated. “Nevertheless, for the past several decades, the decisions of the courts, popular or not, have been followed, and the Nation has avoided the standoffs that plagued the 1950s and 1960s.”
While Roberts did not list anyone by name, the chief justice of the Supreme Court noted that “elected officials from across the political spectrum have raised the specter of open disregard for federal court rulings” over the past few years.
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“These dangerous suggestions, however sporadic, must be soundly rejected. Judicial independence is worth preserving,” Roberts wrote. “As my late colleague Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote, an independent judiciary is ‘essential to the rule of law in any land,’ yet it ‘is vulnerable to assault; it can be shattered if the society law exists to serve does not take care to assure its preservation.’”
Roberts added, “I urge all Americans to appreciate this inheritance from our founding generation and cherish its endurance.”
In his report, Roberts warned that both the country’s political system and economic strength are dependent on the “rule of law.” As a result, Roberts warned that federal courts “must do their part to preserve the public’s confidence in our institutions.”
Roberts urged his fellow judges to “stay in our assigned areas of responsibility” and do their “level best to handle those responsibilities fairly.”