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Roberts Slams Personal Judge Criticism 03/18 06:23
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts warned Tuesday
that personal criticism of federal judges is dangerous and "it's got to stop,"
two days after President Donald Trump called a federal judge who ruled against
the administration "wacky, nasty, crooked and totally out of control."
As he has done before, Roberts was careful not to single out Trump or anyone
else, insisting that the attacks on judges are not from "just any one political
perspective."
Criticism of judicial opinions "comes with the territory" and can be
healthy, Roberts said in remarks at Rice University's Baker Institute for
Public Policy in Houston.
But it's different when the criticism moves away from legal analysis.
"Personally directed hostility is dangerous and it's got to stop," Roberts said.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal, who shared the stage with the chief
justice, thanked Roberts because "we always know that you have our backs and
that means a great deal."
The U.S. Marshals Service, responsible for protecting judges, reported 564
threats in the government fiscal year that ended in September, up from the year
before. Roberts acknowledged the "serious threats" by noting Congress has
responded by increasing funding for judges' security.
Trump's most recent comments about judges came Sunday in a post on his Truth
Social following a ruling by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg quashing
subpoenas the Justice Department had issued to the Federal Reserve.
Boasberg, Trump wrote, is "a Wacky, Nasty, Crooked, and totally Out of
Control Judge" who "suffers from the highest level of Trump Derangement
Syndrome (TDS), and has been 'after' my people, and me, for years."
Last year, Roberts publicly rejected Trump's call for Boasberg's impeachment
when the judge blocked additional deportations to a notorious prison in El
Salvador.
The president also has been highly critical of Roberts and the five other
justices who struck down global tariffs he imposed under an emergency powers
law. Trump said he was "absolutely ashamed" of the members of the court who
ruled against him, questioning their patriotism and singling out two of his own
appointees, Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch.
Trump's allies and administration officials also have joined in the
criticism. After U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston on Monday blocked
the administration's effort to reshape vaccines policy, Deputy Attorney General
Todd Blanche noted that other rulings from Murphy had been upended.
"How many times can Judge Murphy get reversed in one year? The same day he
is stayed for repeatedly refusing to follow the law, he issues another activist
decision. We will keep appealing these lawless decisions, and we will keep
winning. The question is, how much embarrassment can this Judge take?" Blanche
posted on X.
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