Chief Justice John Roberts warned Tuesday that increasingly personal attacks against judges can be “quite dangerous.”
Speaking at an event hosted by Rice University’s Baker Institute, Roberts, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, said criticism of court decisions is often warranted but warned it can cross a line when it becomes personal.
“The problem sometimes is that the criticism can move from a focus on legal analysis to personalities,” Roberts said. When directed in a more personal way, “that can be dangerous,” he added.
The hourlong event never mentioned President Donald Trump by name, stressing that attacks on judges come from “all over, not just any one political perspective.”
Roberts emphasized that judges around the country “work very hard to get it right.”
“Personally directed hostility is dangerous, and it has got to stop,” he said.
The chief justice’s comments come amid renewed scrutiny of the courts following the recent ruling by justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, both Trump appointees, that invalidated sweeping tariffs backed by the president.
Trump called the high court “inept and embarrassing” on Truth Social and accused the dissenting judges of “openly disrespecting the presidents who appointed them.
The chief justice has previously stepped in to defend the judiciary from political attacks.
Last year, Roberts publicly rejected Trump’s calls for U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to be impeached after the judge blocked additional deportations to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
Roberts has also rebuked criticism from Democrats. In 2020, Roberts condemned Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who said justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch would “pay the price” for restricting abortion rights, calling the senator’s remarks “dangerous.”
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Still, Roberts acknowledged that criticism plays an important role in the judicial system.
“You get used to the criticism right away,” he said. “It can be very healthy. We don’t believe that we’re flawless in any way, and it’s important.”
