Mr. Roberts’ annual report on the federal judiciary did not focus on controversies, but looked ahead to the nation’s 250th anniversary.
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WASHINGTON – Chief Justice John Roberts said in his annual report Dec. 31, looking ahead to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, that the nation’s legal foundations remain strong.
Roberts’ year-end report on the federal judiciary does not mention President Donald Trump’s attacks on judges or the warnings of some of his liberal colleagues that the Constitution and the rule of law could be at risk.
Instead, the former history major praised the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, saying they continue to endure despite discord between nations.
Roberts quoted President Calvin Coolidge as saying on the nation’s 150th anniversary that “in the midst of the conflicting interests, in the midst of the chaos of partisan politics,” “the two great charters of liberty and justice stand firm and steadfast.”
“It was true then and it’s true now,” Roberts wrote.
Trump tried the courts.
Roberts, who oversees the federal judiciary in addition to his leadership role on the Supreme Court, also said the responsibility lies with all three branches of government and all Americans to fulfill the promises of the Declaration of Independence.
“We in the Third Branch must continue to adjudicate the cases before us in accordance with our oath, provide equal rights to the poor and rich, and faithfully and impartially perform all our duties under the Constitution and laws of the United States,” he wrote.
Notably, throughout the year, President Trump’s wide-ranging claims about presidential power and criticism of the judges who ruled against him have tested the court.
In fact, in March, Roberts issued a brief but unusual rebuke after Trump said a judge who tried to block the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants should be impeached.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreements over judicial decisions,” Roberts said at the time. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, one of the court’s three liberal justices, has been more outspoken about both Trump’s comments and the rulings of his conservative colleagues, who he said showed favoritism toward the administration.
In one dissenting opinion, Jackson said the majority gave the president a green light to “occasionally exercise the kind of unchecked and arbitrary power that our Founders wrote the Constitution to eradicate.”
judges criticized district judges
There were tensions over the rule of law not only between judges but also between high courts and lower courts.
Conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh said some federal judges appeared to be deliberately ignoring past Supreme Court decisions when faced with the Trump administration’s controversy.
“Lower court judges may sometimes disagree with our court’s decisions, but they are never free to disobey,” Gorsuch said in a particularly pointed statement, along with Kavanaugh.
According to Roberts’ annual report, lawsuits filed in district courts against the federal government increased by 9% between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025. But the numbers don’t reveal what percentage was caused by actions taken by the Trump administration.
Roberts emphasizes judicial independence
In his report, Roberts emphasized the strength of the judiciary.
He pointed out that one of the many charges the Founding Fathers levied against King George III in the Declaration of Independence was the rule of judges.
Roberts said the Constitution corrected that flaw, providing tenure and salary protections to protect the independence of judges and “an anti-majoritarian check on the political branch.”
“This arrangement was beneficial to the country,” Roberts wrote.
