Chief Justice Roberts 2024 report tackles doxing, public officials intimidating judges, judicial independence and starts off with December 1761 and King George III

(Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.)

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.,  issued his 2024 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary. This is the 20th report Chief Justice Roberts has issued since he was appointed chief justice in 2005.

This is a 15 page report. The first three pages include December 1761, King George III, the colonies, the first Chief Justice of the United States, John Jay, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. There are some stats such as bankruptcy filings and workload of the courts.

This is just one excerpt from page 4. 

"In truth, some tension between the branches of the government is inevitable and criticism of judicial interpretations of the people’s laws is as old as the Republic itself. In Hamilton’s and Jefferson’s time, the debate was framed by pitting those who believed that the government’s powers extended only to those specifically enumerated in the document against those who found in it more expansive powers. Today we often use terms like originalism and pragmatism to describe these differences of opinion. The political branches sometimes inquire into judicial philosophy when considering nominees for the federal courts. But the oath—and the duties that follow—are the same regardless of the President who nominated and the Senate that confirmed every new Article III judge.  Judicial review makes tensions between the branches unavoidable. Judicial officers resolve crucial matters involving life, liberty, and property. At times, as Hamilton recognized, an independent judiciary must uphold the Constitution against the shifting tides of public opinion, as “no man can be sure that he may not to-morrow be the victim of a spirit of injustice, by which he may be a gainer today.”12 It should be no surprise that judicial rulings can provoke strong and passionate reactions. And those expressions of public sentiment—whether criticism or praise—are not threats to judicial independence. To the contrary, public engagement with the work of the courts results in a better-informed polity and a more robust democracy. "

On page 7, Chief Justice Roberts mentions "doxing"and "Public officials, too, regrettably have  engaged in recent attempts to intimidate judges—for example, suggesting political bias in the judge’s adverse rulings without a credible basis for such allegations."

On page 9, Chief Justice Roberts writes, "The federal courts must do their part to preserve the public’s confidence in our institutions. We judges must stay in our assigned areas of responsibility and do our level best to handle those responsibilities fairly. We do so by confining ourselves to live “cases or controversies” and maintaining a healthy respect for the work of elected officials on behalf of the people they represent."