Particle.news
Download on the App Store
11 ARTICLES
·
6h ago

Roberts’ Year-End Report Extols Judicial Independence, Skirts Ongoing Supreme Court Disputes

The statement follows a year of emergency rulings largely favoring the Trump administration.

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.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: (L-R) U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor bow their heads during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Photo by: Chip Somodevilla/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

Overview

  • Roberts’ history-focused letter invokes Thomas Paine, the Declaration of Independence and Calvin Coolidge to assert that the nation’s constitutional guarantees remain “firm and unshaken.”
  • He underscores judges’ oath to decide cases impartially and points to life tenure and salary protections as guardrails for an independent judiciary.
  • The report avoids direct discussion of President Trump, threats against judges and ethics controversies, continuing Roberts’ practice of sidestepping immediate political fights.
  • Reporting indicates the court sided with the administration in more than 80% of Justice Department emergency appeals in 2025, enabling actions on agency removals, immigration policy and passport sex designations, though it also blocked a National Guard deployment.
  • The court faces a consequential early 2026 docket that includes disputes over birthright citizenship, sweeping tariffs, the attempted removal of a Federal Reserve governor, transgender sports participation laws and a Hawaii gun-carry restriction.