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2h ago

Roberts’ Year-End Report Centers on Founding Ideals, Sidesteps Court Controversies

The report highlights judicial independence, sidestepping controversies including emergency rulings, ethics, Trump-era clashes.

With the Supreme Court Building under renovations, the justices hear oral arguments on President Donald Trump's push to expand control over independent federal agencies, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson attends inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Chief Justice John Roberts on May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Chief Justice John Roberts attends President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Overview

  • Chief Justice John Roberts framed the 2025 letter around the Declaration of Independence and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, quoting Calvin Coolidge to say the Constitution remains “firm and unshaken.”
  • Roberts stressed safeguards such as life tenure and salary protection, casting the judiciary as a counter-majoritarian check that must decide cases faithfully and impartially.
  • The statement did not mention President Donald Trump or address the Court’s expanded emergency docket and ethics disputes that have drawn criticism throughout the year.
  • Coverage notes the Court sided with the Trump administration in more than 80% of emergency appeals in 2025, though it issued a few setbacks, including blocking a National Guard deployment.
  • Roberts’ report included workload data showing Supreme Court filings fell 9% to 3,856, federal appeals rose 5%, district civil cases increased 4%, and criminal filings surged 13%, as the Court readies 2026 arguments on birthright citizenship, tariffs, and agency removal powers.