Supreme Court Chief Warns: Respect Court Rulings

The head of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, just put out a message that’s big news. He’s worried about officials from both sides of the political game talking about ignoring court rulings. Roberts says this is pretty dangerous and that everyone needs to respect the court’s decisions. He didn’t name any names, but both sides have hinted at this idea in the past few years. This report comes just before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has been known to criticize federal courts and call them “rigged. ” Some of his plans, like those on immigration, could lead to a clash with the court. Roberts reminds everyone that both parties have generally respected court decisions for decades. He gives examples from the past, like when presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy enforced school desegregation rulings. Roberts is also not happy with some public officials who try to intimidate judges by saying their rulings are politically biased without any proof. He thinks this is wrong and should be stopped. While Roberts didn’t talk about the problems inside the court, like questions about ethics and a recent flag controversy, he did mention that the public’s trust in the court isn’t as high as it used to be. Some folks from both sides have talked about ignoring court decisions. For example, Vice President-elect JD Vance once said Trump should respond to bad rulings like Andrew Jackson did. Even Trump has been harsh on courts when they rule against him. On the other side, a Democrat like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has suggested ignoring a court decision about an abortion pill. Roberts says the judicial system shouldn’t live in fear. He also mentioned that foreign actors are now trying to mess with the court system using things like fake news and bots to cause trouble. The court this year also gave former presidents a lot of immunity from criminal charges and is looking into issues like transgender care bans and a ban on TikTok. Roberts thinks the job of the court is to say what the law is. But he also says the court can’t be independent if other parts of the government don’t enforce its rulings.