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John Roberts again warns of violence against judges

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court released the high court's annual report in which he thanked Congress for passing a judicial security bill.

El presidente del Tribunal Supremo, John Roberts

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. swears President

Published by
Rosana Rábago Sainz

Chief Justice John Roberts again referred to the importance of justices not "living in fear." He did so during the presentation of the annual report that the high court presents each year reviewing what has happened in the U.S. judicial system during that period of time.

Informe de final de año 202... by VozMedia

This year, Justice Roberts focused his attention on the limited judicial security available to judges and the need to increase these protective measures for federal judges:

The law requires every judge to swear an oath to perform his or her work without fear or favor, but we must support judges by ensuring their safety. A judicial system cannot and should not live in fear. The events of Little Rock teach about the importance of rule by law instead of by mob.

As detailed by the U.S. Marshals Service in the report, the increase in threats to judges is on the rise. In 2015 they received 926 threats, in 2021 judges were subject to 4,511 threats and other inappropriate communications. Members of Congress are not spared either and, like the magistrates, have also seen an increase in threats against them in recent years.

Congress approves bill to increase judicial security

The Chief Justice also gave a few words to thank Congress for deciding to implement a bill that would increase security measures for judges nationwide: "I want to thank the members of Congress who are attending to the judicial security needs that are essential to run a system of courts."

He cited Judge Esther Salas as an example of the need for increased security. The magistrate lost her son in 2020 when she was the victim of an attack, as John Roberts recalled in the annual report:

Judge Esther Salas, a U.S. District Judge in New Jersey, has been a brave, able, and admirable advocate for this cause since her son Daniel Anderl was murdered in 2020 when he answered the door to her home in what was meant to be an attack on her

No mention of Roe vs. Wade in the report

During the nine pages that make up the document, John Roberts avoided talking about the controversy that the Court experienced in 2022, when it overturned the federal abortion rights that the case Roe vs. Wade had approved in 1973. However, the Chief Justice did make a brief allusion to the case when he spoke of the judges' freedom of opinion:

Judicial opinions speak for themselves, and there is no obligation in our free country to agree with them. Indeed, we judges frequently dissent – sometimes strongly – from our colleagues’ opinions, and we explain why in public writings about the cases before us.
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