John Roberts Bemoans Americans for Viewing SCOTUS Justices as “Political Actors” |
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On Wednesday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts defended the purported integrity of the high court, bemoaning what he claimed to be a misunderstanding by the American people of how the institution is meant to function.
Roberts, who was speaking at a legal conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania, said that too many Americans view the justices as “political actors.”
“I think at a very basic level, people think we’re making policy decisions, [that] we’re saying we think this is what things should be, as opposed to this is what the law provides,” Roberts said, adding that some people lack “an accurate understanding of what we do.”
“We’re not simply part of the political process, and there’s a reason for that, and I’m not sure people grasp that as much as is appropriate,” Roberts complained.
The chief justice’s grievance places the blame for the court’s negative approval ratings directly on the American people. However, Roberts failed to address concerns Americans have expressed regarding the court’s overturn of long-held precedents (such as Roe v. Wade) and its rulings with deeply political overtones (including ruling to allow state legislatures to engage in partisan gerrymandering). Indeed, Roberts’s words came just a week after........