U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor stand on the House floor ahead of the annual State of the Union address by President Biden before a joint session on March 7, 2024. (Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)
"Our political system and economic strength depend on the rule of law," Roberts wrote.
A landmark Supreme Court immunity decision penned by Roberts, along with another high court decision halting efforts to disqualify Trump from the ballot, were championed as major victories on the Republican nominee's road to winning the election. The immunity decision was criticized by Democrats like Biden, who later called for term limits and an enforceable ethics code following criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices.
A handful of Democrats and one Republican lawmaker urged Biden to ignore a decision by a Trump-appointed judge to revoke FDA approval for the abortion drug mifepristone last year. Biden declined to take executive action to bypass the ruling, and the Supreme Court later granted the White House a stay permitting the sale of the medication to continue.
Chief Justice John Roberts, left, and Associate Justice Samuel Alito are seated as they and the other Supreme Court members sit for a group photo at the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
He also said "attempts to intimidate judges for their rulings in cases are inappropriate and should be vigorously opposed."
While public officials and others have the right to criticize rulings, they should also be aware that their statements can "prompt dangerous reactions by others," Roberts wrote.
Threats targeting federal judges have more than tripled over the last decade, according to U.S. Marshals Service statistics. State court judges in Wisconsin and Maryland were killed at their homes in 2022 and 2023, Roberts wrote.
"Violence, intimidation, and defiance directed at judges because of their work undermine our Republic, and are wholly unacceptable," he wrote.
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Roberts also pointed to disinformation about court rulings as a threat to judges’ independence, saying that social media can magnify distortions and even be exploited by "hostile foreign state actors" to exacerbate divisions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/supreme-court-chief-justice-roberts-issues-warning-judicial-independence-weeks-before-trump-inauguration