Chief Justice Roberts Says Court Criticism Shouldn’t Be Personal

Chief Justice John Roberts said that criticism of members of the US Supreme Court shouldn’t turn personal.

“Criticism is a good thing so long as it is not trashing the justices,” Roberts said in response to questions from graduating law students at Georgetown University Monday.

Roberts’ comments come at a time when the judiciary is increasingly coming under pressure from conservatives including President Donald Trump over rulings they argue thwart his agenda. Trump hasn’t attacked the US Supreme Court during his second term and has said he would follow orders from all courts. The administration has been blocked more than 200 times by judges as of the beginning of May.

“We are not immune from any criticism,” Roberts said during the appearance, noting that there have been times in the Supreme Court’s history where it has been warranted.

Roberts has in recent months spoken out against calls to impeach judges after Trump and his allies called for such measures in response to rulings against the administration. Trump called for the impeachment of US District Judge James Boasberg, who sought to pause the deportation of hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members. In a rare public statement, Roberts said that calling for impeachment wasn’t an “appropriate response.”

Roberts has also expressed concerns about the threat to judicial independence. In a Dec. 31 annual report, he wrote that violence and threats to defy lawful judgments and other “illegitimate activity” endanger judicial independence. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recently echoed those concerns, saying efforts to intimidate judges were threatening the Constitution and the rule of law.

In his address to the Georgetown Law students, Roberts also fielded a question about how the justices handle differences of opinion on cases. “We find a way to get along,” he said. For example, the justices shake hands before sitting on the bench, which helps put behind past disagreements, said Roberts.

Roberts also told the students about how he thinks artificial intelligence will revolutionize the legal profession. He mused about the potential for an AI-generated opinion written in his voice. “It strikes me as a real brave new world,” he said.

He doesn’t foresee AI being a substitute for human judges, however, saying that a machine isn’t going to be able to make sensitive decisions regarding whether a defendant should go to jail or not.

The Supreme Court has been inundated with emergency requests from the Trump administration in response to lower court rulings that have prevented the president from carrying out his executive policies. The justices are set to hear arguments on Thursday over Trump’s effort to begin limiting birthright citizenship.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Sabrina Willmer in Washington at swillmer2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Elizabeth Wasserman

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