The justices sometimes make decisions that are unpopular, but they are based on the law, Roberts said.
Chief Justice John Roberts said on May 6 that U.S. Supreme Court justices are not “political actors.”
Roberts’s comments came at a conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania, attended by judges and attorneys from the jurisdictions covered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. That circuit encompasses Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Although some of the high court’s decisions may be unpopular, they are based exclusively on the law, he said at the gathering.
“I think, at a very basic level, people think we’re making policy decisions, we’re saying we think this is how things should be, as opposed to what the law provides,” said the jurist, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005.
“I think they view us as purely political actors, which I don’t think is an accurate understanding of what we do.”
Roberts’s speech came at a time when public confidence in the Supreme Court is at a low ebb, and a week after the court issued a ruling that changed how the federal Voting Rights Act is interpreted.
Roberts was part of the court’s majority on April 29 when it ruled 6–3 in Louisiana v. Callais that race may only be a minor factor in redistricting rationales, and may not be the predominant, overriding reason for how congressional district lines are drawn.
The justices struck down a federal district judge’s decision that created a second black-majority congressional district in Louisiana. The judge had ruled the electoral district was needed to comply with anti-discrimination provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
The ruling has spurred a new round of mid-decade redistricting efforts, largely in Republican-dominated state legislatures around the country.
In the past few years, the Supreme Court has also issued rulings striking down the constitutional right to abortion, strengthening gun rights, weakening the powers of federal agencies, and getting rid of affirmative action in higher education admissions.
Roberts avoided mentioning any specific rulings in his presentation, but stressed that the court is “simply not part of the political process.”
He said the court’s formal, written opinions are based on the Constitution.
“One thing we have to do is make decisions that are unpopular,” Roberts said.
The chief justice said criticism should be aimed at rulings, instead of individuals in the form of personal attacks.
