Chief Justice John Roberts has been responsible for a perpetuated love of corporations during his tenure as Chief Justice. The highest ranking judicial official in the United States expressed concern to a gathering of law students last Friday that he fears the growing partisanship in the judicial confirmation process and the idea that somehow political ideology influences the Court’s decisions.
Chief Justice Roberts spoke to students of the University of Nebraska College of Law last Friday. He said that the current political climate has placed both the executive and legislative branches of government in “a period of real partisan rancor that impedes their ability to carry out their functions.” His reason for doing so was to draw out that, by contrast, the Court does not find itself influenced by such partisan conflicts but by association the public may perceive that it is as embroiled in the turmoil as the House of Representatives.
“I’m worried about people having that perception, because it’s not an accurate one,” said Roberts. “It’s not how we do our work, and it’s important that we make that as clear as we can to the public.”
Under Justice Roberts, the Supreme Court has decided to expand the protections of major corporations and shrink the rights of consumers. It has decided that money is equivalent to speech and allowed the continued expansion of unprecedented spying efforts at home.
It’s rare that the Chief Justice speaks in public, however, his growing concern over the perception of party divide seems to have drawn him out to do so. Unfortunately, simply telling a group of law students that the Court isn’t influenced by political slants doesn’t change the record.
