Chief Justice Roberts Is Dreaming

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

With the new year upon us the liberal drums will be beating an attack on the Supreme Court. Senator Feingold is warning the court has “lost its credibility” because its “right-wing supermajority” has “flouted judicial norms” and “trampled on the Constitution.” In an appeal for donations to his “progressive legal organization,” Mr. Feingold is stressing the need for “adding seats to the Court” and “enacting term limits.”

Mr. Feingold’s plea was joined Friday with a valedictory column by Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times, lamenting how “the Constitution’s gift of life tenure” had enabled conservatives to “capture the court” and “freeze in place a legacy the American people never chose.” She describes the court as having entered a “danger zone” in “a war for the soul of the country.” This “is not,” she writes, “the Supreme Court we deserve.”

One might expect the sages of Mr. Feingold’s American Constitution Society to acknowledge that the national parchment itself mandates life terms for federal judges. Plus, packing the court with additional justices is a sally from which FDR himself retreated at the acme of his presidency. FDR managed nonetheless to name nine justices to the nation’s highest court. Yet Mr. Feingold is undeterred.

The senator is demanding “reasonable and meaningful Supreme Court reform.” Chief Justice Roberts is weighing in with his own plea — for the independence of the courts. His annual report is calling the judiciary’s autonomy “crucial to preserving public trust in its work as a separate and coequal branch of government.” The “power to manage its internal affairs,” he adds, protects the sages “from inappropriate political influence.”

Chief Justice Roberts is pointing to his predecessor, William Taft, as having “proved visionary on a matter of vital concern to the entire Judiciary: safeguarding and fortifying the independence of the Branch.” Just weeks before Chief Justice Roberts’s report, President Biden’s Supreme Court commission punted after weighing questions like whether to enlarge the nation’s highest bench.

That failed to quell the ardor of liberals, like Senators Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Warren of Massachusetts, who remain eager to “reform” the court. The Times reports that the Chief Justice is “focused on thwarting less contentious reforms by Congress,” including efforts to heighten scrutiny of “financial conflicts” among federal judges. That is the subject of legislation percolating in Congress with “bipartisan support,” the Times says.

“Congress has every right to step in,” says Gabe Roth of watchdog group Fix the Court, to “hold the third branch to account” on financial conflicts of interest. He anticipates legislation this year. Chief Justice Roberts, by contrast, recalled how Taft a century ago “threw his considerable political heft” into the cause of ensuring “self-governance for federal courts across the country.”

The Chief Justice praised the Congress for 1930s-era measures that “fortified the Judiciary’s institutional independence.” The chief acknowledges that Congress has maintained an oversight role in respect of the courts’ workings, “consistent with the principles of checks and balances embedded in our constitutional structure.” This has served as a “useful dialogue characterized by mutual respect,” Chief Justice Roberts writes.

Chief Justice Roberts reckons that this reflects “inter-branch comity and deference.” Dream on, Your Honor. And come look at this bridge we have for sale in Brooklyn. The idea that there are Democrats in the Senate who attach some importance to inter-branch comity and deference strikes at least us as laughable. This is one reason why it is so important in the mid-terms to regain control of the Senate.

__________

Image of William Taft via Wikimedia Commons.


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use