Chief Justice John Roberts reflected on judicial independence and maintaining the public’s trust as he prepares to potentially preside over the impeachment trial of President Trump.
In his year-end report on the state of the federal judiciary, Roberts appeared to take a jab at Trump, who has attacked federal judges critical of his policies, without mentioning him by name.
“I ask my judicial colleagues to continue their efforts to promote public confidence in the judiciary, both through their rulings and through civic outreach. We should celebrate our strong and independent judiciary, a key source of national unity and stability. But we should also remember that justice is not inevitable.
“We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear or favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity, and dispatch. As the New Year begins, and we turn to the tasks before us, we should each resolve to do our best to maintain the public’s trust that we are faithfully discharging our solemn obligation to equal justice under law,” he wrote in the seven-page report.
Roberts also said the public is failing to appreciate democracy and denounced the spread of false information on social media.
“We have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside. In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public’s need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital,” he warned.
