Chief Justice John Roberts warns against threats aimed at members of judiciary

 January 2, 2025

At the end of each year, Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court issues a year-end report summing up the important takeaways and general thoughts on the judicial system at the current time.

According to Bloomberg Law, this year's release was a little different than previous versions of the report, as the chief justice warned that the uptick in threats against judges and justices "endangers the independence of the federal judiciary."

Violence and violent rhetoric aimed at judges was Roberts' main focus of this year's report, noting that the increase in dangers to judges, threats to defy lawful judgments, and other “illegitimate activity” is not a path America wants to pursue.

Roberts' 2024 Year End Report on the Federal Judiciary was released on Tuesday, according to the outlet.

"According to United States Marshals Service statistics, the volume of hostile threats and communications directed at judges has more than tripled over the past decade," Roberts noted in his report.

Chief Justice Roberts also stressed the importance of the judiciary maintaining independence, especially in the lead-up to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

"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," Roberts wrote.

He added, "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."

Though he didn't name Donald Trump or President Joe Biden, many believe Roberts was leaning that way in his next line.

"Within the past few years, however, elected officials from across the political spectrum have raised the specter of open disregard for federal court rulings," the chief justice wrote.

Roberts invoked another notable Supreme Court name in the report, referencing her early warnings on the same topic.

He said, "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," he continued.

The high court is expected to take on a number of high-profile cases after Trump takes office, many of which will touch on some of the most controversial topics around, including illegal immigration.

"A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature.” — Thomas Jefferson
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