Dear John,
The Constitution established guardrails that are critical to the protection of our democratic institutions. A key guardrail is the judiciary, whose power depends upon the public's trust and confidence in its work.
As the leader of the Supreme Court of the United States, Chief Justice John Roberts speaks frequently about judicial independence, using the vehicle of his Year-End Reports to extol the judiciary's institutional independence, while gaslighting the country about his Court's own unaddressed ethical challenges.
From his grudging issuance of an inadequate and unenforceable code of conduct, to his failure to address allegations of unethical conduct by Associate Justices, the Chief stubbornly ignores the questionable behavior on his Court that cries out for moral leadership.
LDAD's Executive Director, Lauren Stiller Rikleen, joined with Amherst College Professor, Austin Sarat, in an article for the Verdict addressing the Chief's refusal to address the Court’s ethics and accountability failings, even as he writes Year-End Reports that extol the importance of judicial independence.
We invite you to read and share: Chief Justice Roberts’s Annual Report Foreshadows a Future of Gaslighting
We are now learning that, once again, the Court is at the center of a new ethical scandal. Yesterday, Justice Alito conversed by telephone with the President-Elect. The pretense for the call – a job recommendation for a former Alito law clerk – is irrelevant to its more subtle purpose.
Such a communication powerfully reinforces the ties between an ally on the Court and a former and future President who was granted sweeping immunity just months ago. Justice Alito’s defense – that he did not know that the day after the call the President-Elect would file an appeal of his widely publicized efforts to avoid his imminent sentencing hearing – is the ultimate example of Supreme gaslighting.
If Justice Roberts cares about his eroding legacy as Chief Justice, he will rise to this moment and behave as a principled steward of our justice system, protecting this guardrail of democracy that has weakened under his leadership.
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Lawyers Defending American Democracy
