John Roberts Defends 1 Court Against Political Actor Claims
Chief Justice john roberts said Wednesday that the public often wrongly sees Supreme Court justices as “political actors” while speaking at the Third Circuit judicial conference in Hershey, Pa. He said the court is facing that criticism even as it draws heightened scrutiny over emergency appeals from the Trump administration.
“At a very basic level, people think we’re making policy decisions,” Roberts said. “We’re not simply part of the political process, and there’s a reason for that, and I’m not sure that people grasp that as much as is appropriate.”
Hershey Judicial Conference
Roberts’ remarks came after criticism of the court’s conservative majority intensified this week when the justices agreed to fast-track their judgment striking down Louisiana’s congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The case added another layer to questions about how the court handles disputes that land on its emergency docket and its broader approach to politically charged cases.
The chief justice’s comments tracked with recent public defenses of the court from two other members of the bench. Last month, retired Justice Stephen Breyer said at Harvard Law School that he did not believe any member of the court was there to “carry out some political agenda.”
Amy Coney Barrett in Dallas
On Monday, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas that the court’s role is to uphold the rule of law, not play politics. “I would encourage you to see the court as an institution that’s separate from the political branches,” she said. “That does a different kind of work.”
Barrett added, “And it’s not to say that the court is perfect or that it always gets it right, but it’s a different kind of thing that’s not just about raw politics.” Roberts’ defense lands in the middle of that broader rebuttal, with the court under pressure to explain how it decides the cases now drawing the most attention.
