Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a cautionary statement on Tuesday, emphasizing the importance of preserving “judicial independence” as the country nears President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Roberts shared his concerns in his annual report on the federal judiciary, highlighting the need to protect the integrity of the judicial system during a time of significant political transition.
“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 wrote in the 15-page report. “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.”
“Within the past few years, however, elected officials from across the political spectrum have raised the specter of open disregard for federal court rulings,” Roberts said, without naming Trump, President Biden or any specific lawmaker. “These dangerous suggestions, however sporadic, must be soundly rejected. Judicial independence is worth preserving. 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.’”
“I urge all Americans to appreciate this inheritance from our founding generation and cherish its endurance,” Roberts added. He then quoted Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, who remarked that the three branches of government “must work in successful cooperation” to “make possible the effective functioning of the department of government which is designed to safeguard with judicial impartiality and independence the interests of liberty.” The current chief justice noted as well: “Our political system and economic strength depend on the rule of law.”
A small group of Democratic lawmakers, along with one Republican, called on President Joe Biden to defy a Trump-appointed judge’s decision to revoke FDA approval for the abortion drug mifepristone last year. However, Biden opted against taking executive action to bypass the ruling. The Supreme Court subsequently granted the White House a stay, allowing the medication to remain available. In a separate case, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority also ruled last year that Biden’s sweeping student loan forgiveness program represented an unconstitutional use of executive authority.