Chief Justice Roberts warns against trend toward defiance of court rulings

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts used his year-end report on the federal judiciary to issue a warning against defiance of court rulings by elected officials and others, saying such defiance could threaten democracy.

"Within the past few years, elected officials from across the political spectrum have raised the specter of open disregard for federal court rulings. These dangerous suggestions, however sporadic, must be soundly rejected," Roberts wrote.

"Every Administration suffers defeats in the court system -- sometimes in cases with major ramifications for executive or legislative power or other consequential topics," Roberts said. "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."Heightened rhetoric

He may have been addressing President-elect Donald Trump, who has previously taken aim at Supreme Court rulings he didn't like.

For his part, President Joe Biden would have packed the court with more (liberal) justices after Roe v. Wade was overturned but couldn't get all Democrat senators on board to do so.

The Supreme Court is a check on executive and legislative power, and it cannot do its job if its rulings are ignored or openly defied.