Chief Justice Roberts Says US Supreme Court Is Not Political
by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,
Chief Justice John Roberts said on May 6 that U.S. Supreme Court justices are not “political actors.”
# THE TAKE: Roberts' "Apolitical" Court Just Keeps Proving Him Wrong Chief Justice Roberts' May 6 sermon about an apolitical judiciary is performance art for a base that still believes in institutions. The receipts disagree violently. Dobbs (2022)—drafted in secret, leaked, overturned 50 years of precedent. Political? Citizens United (2010)—decimated campaign finance law with a 5-4 split that broke perfectly along ideological lines. Political? Shelby County v. Holder (2013)—gutted the Voting Rights Act, enabling GOP voter suppression playbooks nationwide. The 6-3 supermajority didn't materialize by accident. It's the direct result of McConnell's stolen seat (Garland), Barrett's rushed confirmation weeks before an election, and Gorsuch's political appointment. Roberts can perform restraint for the cameras. His court's decisions tell the actual story: they're nine lawyers in robes wearing team jerseys, and three of them were installed specifically to overturn Roe. That's not a court. That's a check on democracy wearing constitutional drag.
What the Documents Show
His defense of the court's impartiality directly addresses widespread public perception that justices make policy decisions based on political ideology rather than legal interpretation. "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," Roberts acknowledged. "I think they view us as purely political actors, which I don't think is an accurate understanding of what we do." The chief justice, appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005, argued that unpopular decisions are simply applications of law, not evidence of political motivation. The timing of Roberts's remarks warrants scrutiny.
Follow the Money
His speech followed by one week the court's April 29 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, in which Roberts joined a 6-3 majority decision fundamentally altering how the Voting Rights Act applies to redistricting. The court ruled that race may only be a minor factor in congressional district design and cannot be the predominant reason for drawing district lines—effectively overturning a federal judge's decision creating a second black-majority congressional district in Louisiana to comply with anti-discrimination provisions of the same act. The ruling has since triggered a wave of redistricting efforts, predominantly in Republican-controlled state legislatures nationwide. The substance of the Louisiana decision presents the precise contradiction Roberts attempts to dispel. The ruling simultaneously restricts federal authority to enforce the Voting Rights Act's anti-discrimination mandate while expanding the latitude for legislators to draw districts in ways that dilute minority voting power.
What Else We Know
Whether one views this as legal interpretation or policy preference depends significantly on one's political position—suggesting the very problem Roberts denies exists. Recent Supreme Court decisions across multiple domains reinforce public skepticism about institutional impartiality. The court has struck down constitutional abortion rights, strengthened gun rights protections, weakened federal regulatory agencies, and eliminated affirmative action in higher education. Each decision aligns with conservative policy objectives and has generated fierce debate about whether the justices are interpreting existing law or reshaping it to match their preferences. The sequence and scope of these rulings, issued while public confidence in the institution reaches historic lows, suggests institutional legitimacy depends less on Roberts's assertions of impartiality and more on whether Americans perceive the outcomes as serving justice or ideology. For ordinary citizens, the court's loss of public trust has profound implications.
Primary Sources
- Source: ZeroHedge
- Category: Government Secrets
- Cross-reference independently — don't take our word for it.
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