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Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday lamented what he framed as a widespread misunderstanding of the Supreme Court\u2019s work, pushing back on criticism that many of the court\u2019s highest-profile cases wind up with conservative outcomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople think we\u2019re making policy decisions,\u201d Roberts told a conference of attorneys and judges in Hershey, Pennsylvania, when asked what he felt Americans most misunderstood about the institution he has led for more than two decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they view us as truly political actors,\u201d he said, \u201cwhich I don\u2019t think is an accurate understanding of what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roberts\u2019 remarks came just days after the court handed down a blockbuster decision gutting a key provision of the Voting Rights Act \u2014 a ruling that lawmakers in several southern states have used to justify a chaotic push to redraw their congressional boundaries to help Republicans in this year\u2019s midterm elections. That decision, handed down with the six-justice conservative wing aligned against the three-justice liberal bloc, has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats and voting rights groups, some of whom have reupped calls for court reforms.<\/p>\n
The decision last week also led to a fiery exchange of opinions between three conservative justices \u2014 Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch \u2014 and liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson days later. Jackson wrote that the court should have stayed on the sidelines of a technical dispute that followed the Voting Rights Act decision in order \u201cto avoid the appearance of partiality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat principle has the court violated?\u201d Alito fired back in a concurring opinion. \u201cThe principle that we should never take any action that might unjustifiably be criticized as partisan?\u201d<\/p>\n
On a broader level, Roberts\u2019 defense on Wednesday came as the court is heading into the final months of a term that is replete with major cases involving President Donald Trump\u2019s power to reshape the federal government. The court handed down one of those decisions in February, striking down Trump\u2019s sweeping global tariffs in a ruling that drew sharp and personal criticism from the president.<\/p>\n
Trump said that the justices who ruled against him, including two whom he appointed, were an \u201cembarrassment to their families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roberts, speaking Wednesday at a conference organized by the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals, reiterated past comments that criticism of the court\u2019s decision is fair game but said that people have \u201cto be a little more careful\u201d about leveling personal criticism against judges.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as that happens,\u201d he said, \u201cthat\u2019s not appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chief justice did not mention Trump specifically and did not discuss any of the high-profile cases the justices are grappling with this term.<\/p>\n
Roberts was interviewed by US Circuit Judge Michael Chagares, the 3rd Circuit\u2019s chief judge, who was nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush. Chagares stuck mostly to softball questions, asking Roberts for the advice he would give to judges, lawyers and a younger version of himself.<\/p>\n
Responding to a question about the court\u2019s ever-lengthier oral arguments, Roberts did make some news for those who follow the institution closely. The chief justice said the format the justices embraced following the Covid-19 pandemic means arguments are carrying on for \u201ctoo long\u201d and that he intended to \u201clook at it over the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
At one point during Roberts\u2019 address, a woman in the audience unexpectedly stood and began speaking to the chief justice. It turned out she was asking only for him to speak more clearly into his microphone.<\/p>\n
Roberts appeared relieved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought,\u201d he quipped, \u201cit was a protest.\u201d<\/p>\n
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