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Chief Justice Rips Obama's 'Very Troubling' Court Rebuke

Roberts irked by 'pep-rally' mood at State of the Union

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 10, 2010 1:20 AM CST | Updated Mar 10, 2010 7:40 AM CST

(Newser) – Chief Justice John Roberts says it's "very troubling" that President Obama criticized a Supreme Court decision amid a "pep-rally" atmosphere at his State of the Union address. Obama said in the speech that the decision to allow corporations to spend freely on campaign ads "opened the floodgates for special interests," sparking cheers from Democrats who surrounded the justices.

Anyone is free to criticize the court, Roberts told a law school class in Alabama, but "the image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court—according to the requirements of protocol—has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling." Roberts also questioned whether justices should continue attending State of the Union addresses, the Los Angeles Times reports.

President Barack Obama gestures while delivering his State of the Union address.
President Barack Obama gestures while delivering his State of the Union address.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
President Obama arrives on Capitol Hill to deliver his State of the Union address. Supreme Court Justices applauding are (from left): Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito, and Chief Justice John Roberts.
President Obama arrives on Capitol Hill to deliver his State of the Union address. Supreme Court Justices applauding are (from left): Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito, and Chief Justice John Roberts.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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President Obama scolds the Supreme Court during his State of the Union address.   (Politablog)

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To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I'm not sure why we're there. - Chief Justice John Roberts

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 89 comments
SilenceDogood
Mar 11, 2010 7:00 AM CST
It’s when Obama does things like this; offend the Supreme court in a public denouncement, that I seriously question his political skills. I often have thought that although I do not support Obama he is a skillful and savvy politician. However when he makes gaffes like this I wonder what he is thinking. It’s almost like Obama is having a hissy fit because the Supreme Court is not behaving the way he wants them to, sort of like a Chief Executive Temper Tantrum (CETT).
Guest
Mar 10, 2010 9:23 PM CST
Obama’s really pushing the envelope here, now going after the Supreme Court. Perhaps he needs to know we’re on to him. It’s the Constitution that empowers the Supreme Court to check the actions of the President and Congress if the justices deem it necessary. Which means the Court can tell an overreaching president that his actions are not allowed by the Constitution. The Court can also tell the Congress that a law it passed violates the Constitution and, therefore, ceases to be a law. It can also tell a state’s government that one of its laws breaks a rule in the Constitution. The Supreme Court is the final judge in every case involving laws of Congress, and of the ultimate law of the land: the U.S. Constitution. What makes anyone think this unabashed Socialist-Marxist in the White House, with an openly hostile political agenda that’s antithetical to the American way of life, will underpin our institutions, laws, and traditions. I no more believe Obama’s deceitful inaugural vow to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States" than I would if his shills told me he listens to Bluegrass music when Michelle is not around. . . .
Shannonals
Mar 10, 2010 7:07 PM CST
It took all this time for Roberts to make a comment? Pointless whinning, if he had a point to make, it should have been done weeks ago.

 
John Roberts • Chief Justice • US Supreme Court • State of the Union Address • Obama State of the Union address • Obama State of the Union 2010

 
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