Closing out 2019 with his annual end-of-the-year report, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts warned against Americans taking “democracy for granted” while also lamenting the fall of civic education.
In the lengthy report, which could potentially be viewed as a veiled slap against criticisms of “fake news,” Roberts cautioned against the costliness of the rapid spread of misinformation in the social media age. He also stressed that this scourge can only be remedied via proper civics education.
“In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public’s need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital,” wrote the chief justice, as reported by CNN.
Chief Justice Roberts then called upon the judiciary to help bring about this civic flourishing.
“We should celebrate our strong and independent judiciary, a key source of national unity and stability,” wrote Roberts. “We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear of favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity and dispatch.”
The chief justice added that the judiciary should do its “best to maintain the public’s trust that we are faithfully discharging our solemn obligation to equal justice under the law.”
The chief justice’s statement regarding the independent judiciary effectively echoes what he said in 2018, when he publicly rebuked President Trump for referring to certain judges as “Obama judges.”
“Every case that gets filed in the 9th Circuit, we get beaten. And then we end up having to go to the Supreme Court, like the travel ban, and we won,” Trump said at the time. “This was an Obama judge. And I’ll tell you what, it’s not going to happen like this anymore.”
“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges, or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them,” Roberts said in response. “The independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”
President Trump immediately issued his own retort to Roberts on Twitter. “Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have ‘Obama judges,’ and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country,” he tweeted. “Why are so many opposing view (on Border and Safety) cases filed [in the 9th Circuit], and why are a vast number of those cases overturned. … these rulings are making our country unsafe! Very dangerous and unwise!”
After the partisan divide that occurred during the confirmation of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Roberts promised the American public that the judiciary would remain an independent legal body.
“I have great respect for our public officials. After all, they speak for the people, and that commands a certain degree of humility from those of us in the judicial branch who do not,” Roberts said. “We do not speak for the people, but we speak for the Constitution. Our role is very clear: We are to interpret the laws and Constitution of the United States and ensure that the political branches act within them. That job obviously requires independence from the political branches.”