Chief Justice Stresses Independence Amid Calls for Court Changes

Chief Justice John Roberts highlighted the judiciary’s efforts to address public criticism of how it handles financial disclosures and workplace harassment, as the Supreme Court faces calls for broader structural changes.

Roberts stressed the importance of judicial independence from Congressional mandates in his annual year-end report released Friday.

Self-governing “bodies of judges from the front lines are in the best position to study and solve” these problems, “and to work in partnership with Congress in the event change in the law is necessary,” Roberts said.

The court has come under criticism from progressives as the justices consider whether to upend ...