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Thursday 22 November 2018

Roberts, Trump spar in extraordinary scrap over judges

By MARK SHERMAN chief justice’s challenge to confirmed by the U.S. Sen-
Associated Press a president’s comments is ate. He especially criticized
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- downright unprecedented judges on California’s 9th
dent Donald Trump and in modern times. U.S. Circuit Court of Ap-
Chief Justice John Rob- It seemed a fight that Trump peals.
erts clashed Wednesday would relish but one that If the 9th Circuit judges
in an extraordinary public Roberts has taken pains are independent, he said,
dispute over the indepen- to avoid. But with Rob- “why are so many oppos-
dence of America’s judi- erts’ court feeling the heat ing view (on Border and
ciary, with Roberts bluntly over the president’s ap- Safety) cases filed there,
rebuking the president for pointment of Justice Brett and why are a vast number
denouncing a judge who Kavanaugh, Roberts and of those cases overturned.
rejected his migrant asy- several of his colleagues ... these rulings are making
lum policy as an “Obama have gone out of their way our country unsafe! Very
judge.” to rebut perceptions of the dangerous and unwise!”
There’s no such thing, Rob- court as a political institu- Trump has never been
erts declared in a strongly In this Sept. 27, 2017 file photo, Chief Justice John Roberts tion divided between five reticent about criticizing
worded statement contra- speaks during the Bicentennial of Mississippi’s Judiciary and conservative Republicans the judiciary. Last year,
dicting Trump and defend- Legal Profession Banquet in Jackson, Miss. and four liberal Democrats. the president scorned the
ing judicial independence. Associated Press Trump’s appointments to “so-called judge” who
Never silent for long, Trump Roberts, the Republican- eral judges who have ruled the Supreme Court and made the first federal rul-
defended his own com- appointed leader of the against him. lower federal courts have ing against his travel ban.
ment, tweeting defiantly, federal judiciary, has of- Before now, it has been themselves spurred charg- During the presidential
“Sorry Justice Roberts.” fered even a hint of criti- highly unusual for a presi- es that the courts are be- campaign, he criticized
The pre-Thanksgiving dust- cism of Trump, who has dent to single out judges coming more politicized. Roberts himself for the chief
up was the first time that several times blasted fed- for personal criticism. And a As the justice widely seen justice’s decisive vote in
as closest to the court’s 2012 to preserve President
middle, Roberts could de- Barack Obama’s health
termine the outcome of care overhaul.
high-profile cases that split Trump also referred to an
the court. Indiana-born judge of Mex-
The new drama began with ican descent, who was pre-
remarks Trump made Tues- siding over a fraud lawsuit
day in which went after a against Trump University,
judge who ruled against his as a Mexican who would
migrant asylum order. The be unable to rule fairly be-
president claimed, not for cause of Trump’s proposal
the first time, that the fed- to build a wall along the
eral appeals court based in U.S.-Mexican border.
San Francisco was biased The president’s remarks on
against him. Tuesday came when a re-
Roberts had refused to porter asked for his reac-
comment on Trump’s ear- tion to a ruling by U.S. Dis-
lier attacks on judges, in- trict Judge Jon Tigar in San
cluding the chief justice Francisco that put the ad-
himself. But on Wednesday, ministration’s asylum policy
after a query by The Asso- on hold. Under that new
ciated Press, he spoke up policy, Trump declared no
for the independence of one could apply for asylum
the federal judiciary and except at an official border
rejected the notion that entry point. That tends to
judges are loyal to the pres- back migrants up for weeks
idents who appoint them. if not months. A number of
“We do not have Obama migrants remain in Tijuana
judges or Trump judges, after traveling in a caravan
Bush judges or Clinton judg- to reach the U.S.
es. What we have is an ex- Trump complained that
traordinary group of dedi- his opponents file lawsuits
cated judges doing their in courts that are part of
level best to do equal right California’s liberal-leaning
to those appearing before 9th Circuit. It’s not unusual
them,” Roberts said. for those challenging a
On the day before Thanks- president’s policies to sue
giving, he concluded, “The in courts they consider
independent judiciary is likely to back their claims.
something we should all be Conservative groups tend-
thankful for.” ed to bring challenges to
Trump hit back from his re- Obama-era policies in Tex-
sort home in Florida, ques- as, part of the conserva-
tioning the independence tive-leaning 5th U.S. Circuit
of federal judges appoint- Court of Appeals in New
ed by his predecessor and Orleans.q