Supreme Court Chief Justice says judicial independence under threat, as Trump return looms

US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a defence Tuesday of judicial independence, which he said is under threat from intimidation, disinformation and the prospect of public officials defying court orders.

Roberts laid out his concerns in an annual report released after a year where the nation’s court system was unusually enmeshed in a closely fought presidential race, with then-Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump attacking its integrity as he faced criminal charges for which he denied wrongdoing.

Trump won the election following a landmark Supreme Court immunity decision penned by Roberts that led to criticism from Democrats like US President Joe Biden.

Trump is now readying for a second term as president with an ambitious agenda, elements of which are likely to be legally challenged and end up before the court whose conservative majority includes three justices appointed by Trump during his first term.

Roberts did not mention Trump. Still, he wrote that even if court decisions are unpopular or mark a defeat for a presidential administration, other branches of government must be willing to enforce them to ensure the rule of law.

He pointed to the Brown vs Board of Education decision that desegrated schools in 1954 as one that needed federal enforcement in the face of resistance from southern governors.