Dear John Roberts- Wake Up. Your Legacy is on the Line
What America Needs Now is a Supreme Court Chief Justice Making Dark Broad Lines, Not Minimalist Parsing of Language
Dear Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts,
First off, let me just say that I respect you as a Justice. I disagree with you quite often, but for several reasons, I can appreciate how you navigate many of these thorny issues, primarily by casting your decisions narrower than need be. Reading your opinions, one gets the impression you genuninely think at length about the issues, the ramifications and reflect on the overarching ideals (more than many other Justices) and that is to be commended, even if the results sometimes are opposed to my opinions and worldview (and I do have a law degree, so it’s not like I don’t understand how the Constitution is typically interpreted).
However, I feel it is important to stress that America right now is enduring something it had never really endured before; a President who thinks he is above the law and who is exerting power unchecked by, even in definance of, the other branches of our Government. He has no respect for the rule of law. He has no respect for the power of the Court or the Judicial Branch entirely. He’s ready to turn you from the head of a coequal branch of government to a toothless man in a robe with a nice title. And he does this, specifically, because the Supreme Court refuses to come down hard on him. Ever.
Now, I get that you and he are of the same political party, and in some sense this is advantageous for you. He did manage to deliver three new conservative members of the Supreme Court to you. But once there, that didn’t work out so well did it? While you were the swing vote on many cases, and could write the decision to your heart’s content, now you are no longer needed to be in the majority at all. Look at what Alito did to you on that Dobbs decision! Your career had been defined up until that point with slow, incremental changes over a long time, little cracks in the dam; but the Dobbs decision and plenty of others were like a flood washing the whole thing away. You’re losing your grip on the Court, and it shows.
Right now, that President is laughing at you, because he knows you’ll never stop him. He thinks you’re a pussy. You know why? Because time and time again when you’ve had the opportunity to call him out on issues, you 1) punted the case on a standing issue or some prudential reason, 2) decided it on the narrowest of merits or 3) actually sided with him like you did that egregious pardon decision last summer. He’s steamrolled you and the Court again, and again, and again. It is not a good look for any judge to be treated this way, but for the Supreme Court? People genuinely think you’re cowards.
The lawless President is eroding the very foundations of our country before our eyes. First Amendment? Shredded. Fifth Amendment? Deleted. 14th Amendment? HA! 22nd Amendment? He’s openly toying with defying it altogether.
What America needs now, more than anything, is for the Supreme Court to come down with some hard, bold, bright lines to corral this out of control Executive, and to enforce them. And you know as much as I do that it doesn’t matter who controls Congress, he is going to do whatever he can get away with, even if it is by quasi-legal means. America needs someone to stand up, put their foot down and say to him plain as day, “No, that’s not how this works.” America needs someone to throw down the gauntlet on him. You are the only person in a position to truly do so.
To this day, your High Court legacy has been relatively mixed and will be easily forgotten over time. Many think you sided a little too much on the Bush Administration side during the War on Terror, but again, narrow decisions with little far reaching consequences. You sided with President Obama on Obamacare, which was actually the right decision (including your decision to split off the Medicaid expansion as well and leave that to the states). Republicans didn’t like that one bit, but you were able to support the Constitution and the law and you were rewarded with some much deserved esteem because of it. But those are the limits of your legacy. That is what happens when one is faced with major decisions, and chooses to offer the narrowest solution available. What Trump is doing is beyond what his predecssors have. This is the moment which will ultimately, truly define your legacy. Will you capitulate or will you stand firm?
Because nobody remembers John Marshall for being John Adams’ Secretary of State, nor for his presiding over the Aaron Burr Trial. They remember him because when faced with a case that decided the balance of power with a President pushing the law to the limit,1 he stood strong, and empowered the Third Branch of Government. Judicial Review, the ability to actually say what the Constitution means is not just a right of Article III courts, it is the ability to check and put restraints on an Executive running afoul of the law. We so desperately need you to do that right now. In the strongest, and most important language you may ever craft in an opinion of your career.
Otherwise, Trump will continue to walk all over you and the Court, and THAT will be your long lasting legacy. It might not be right to call it a legacy on par with Judge Roger Taney2, but it would be one just as deserving.
Sincerely,
PurpleAmerica
PurpleAmerica’s Recommended Stories
Quick plug for one of my favorite historical books about the story of Marbury v. Madison, “What Kind of Nation”. It genuinely is an important piece of American history often overlooked.
PurpleAmerica’s Obscure Fact of the Day
John Roberts wasn’t originally supposed to be Chief Justice. He was nominated by George W. Bush’s for his first opening on the Court when Sandra Day O’Connor stepped down. However, when Chief Justice Rehnquist died, opening up the Chief Justice chair also, Bush withdrew the nomination and re-submitted Roberts for Chief Justice.
Bush’s next choice was to then name his personal attorney Harriet Myers to fill Sandra Day O’Connor’s seat. Her lack of credentials and opinion history spooked conservatives who wouldn’t support the nomination, so Bush withdrew it. Bush then appointed Samuel Alito in Myers’ place.
PurpleAmerica’s Final Word on the Subject
Roberts, be the guy who goes toe to toe with a wannabe dictator and puts him in his place. Few people get that opportunity. That will be a legacy worth having.
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Footnotes and Fun Stuff
It should not be lost on anyone neither that Marshall to some extent was even RESPONSIBLE for the situation that brought this all the way to the Supreme Court.
Taney was the Chief Justice who wrote the Dred Scott opinion, largely considered the worst opinion written by the Court, and was a strong factor in escalating tensions leading to the Civil War.
Good letter -- thanks PurpleAmerica.
I realize there isn't a pertinent case before the court at this moment, but I would like to see some advisory statement from Roberts addressed to our military, anticipating the possibility of illegal orders from the CIC. It should probably also address State National Guards and Governors as well. I don't think it would have to get deep into the UCMJ. Just kind of a "Pre-Nuremberg Warning" so that our children and grandchildren won't have to scrounge up a shit-ton of piano wire.
I'm frankly disgusted and terrified by what we saw out of the Oval Office yesterday. The disdain for the Constitution and rule of law is obvious and dangerous.
Are there any mechanisms in place to enforce the ruling of the Courts at this point? Or would any rebuke by Justice Roberts simply be words and principles? He should speak up regardless obviously but I'm just trying to understand what might happen here.