Chief Justice John Roberts cautions politicians against heated rhetoric about judiciary

The U.S. Supreme Court last week issued its final — and for some, controversial — opinions of the current term, and not long after, the topic of threats to the judiciary reared its head in public debate once more.

As Breitbart reports, Chief Justice John Roberts on Saturday cautioned politicians and others to remain mindful of the fact that incendiary words about judges and their rulings can lead to serious threats of violence that, in a worst-case scenario, may even be acted upon.

Roberts weighs in

Speaking at the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals judicial conference over the weekend, Roberts echoed familiar themes about the risk to judges of heated discourse regarding the exercise of their duties.

Though he refrained from singling out any political figures by name, it was clear to most that many of Roberts’ comments referenced President Donald Trump as well as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), both of whom have caught his attention in recent years due to their criticism of the judiciary.

Roberts lamented, “It becomes wrapped up in the political dispute that a judge who’s doing his or her job is part of the problem. And the danger, of course, is somebody might pick up on that.”

He continued, “And we have had, of course, serious threats of violence and murder of judges simply for doing their work.”

The chief justice added, “So I think the political people on both sides of the aisle need to keep that in mind.”

Notable controversies, recalled

Roberts, on more than one occasion in recent years, has seen fit to speak out against comments made by Trump critical of particular judges and rulings.

In 2018, Roberts reacted harshly to Trump’s characterization of a jurist who ruled against him as an “Obama judge,” and just this year, he took issue with the president’s suggestion of impeachment for a judge who issued a decision unfavorable to the administration’s deportation plans.

It is not just Trump who has drawn Roberts’ ire, however, as the chief justice also took note when Schumer seemed to threaten consequences for any justice who sided with pro-life arguments in a then-pending case before the high court, suggesting that they would “pay the price” for such an outcome.

Likely underpinning Roberts’ position on threats to members of the judiciary is the 2022 arrest of an armed man who traveled to the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh with plans to assassinate him due to reports that the abortion precedent of Roe v. Wade was poised for reversal.

Political implications persist

In light of recent developments at the high court, it seems unlikely that the political rhetoric — and potentially dangerous language — will abate anytime soon.

Last week, the majority opinion in a case dealing with the validity of nationwide injunctions, Justice Amy Coney Barrett laid bare her — and perhaps other justices’ — skepticism about Joe Biden-nominated Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s ability to do her job, as the Daily Wire noted, suggesting that her colleague’s dissent was startlingly unmoored to any consideration of statute, precedent, or “to any doctrine whatsoever.”

As valid as those concerns may well be, in an environment where there is already speculation that Jackson’s ascent to the court could potentially be negated if it was the product of Biden’s allegedly hijacked autopen, the potential for new — and possibly — dangerous political battles to open up appears limitless.