Chief Justice John Roberts dodges contentious issues in year-end message to judiciary

Chief Justice John Roberts scrupulously avoided touching on contentious issues facing judges at a time of discord within the federal judiciary in his annual end-of-year report on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts scrupulously avoided touching on contentious issues facing judges at a time of widespread discord within the federal judiciary in his annual end-of-year report Wednesday.

Roberts' seven-page statement focused mostly on the history of the Declaration of Independence even as judges have faced harsh criticism this year for ruling against Trump administration policies amid a period of rising violent threats.

Addressing his colleagues in the judiciary, Roberts said it is the duty of everyone in government to live up to the ideals of the 1776 declaration that paved the way to American independence and expressed confidence in the sturdiness of the Constitution.

“Those of us in the Third Branch must continue to decide the cases before us according to our oath, doing equal right to the poor and to the rich, and performing all of our duties faithfully and impartially under the Constitution,” he wrote.

Roberts, who earlier in the year pushed back on President Donald Trump over a call to impeach judges simply for ruling against him, did not directly address that issue or the threats that have prompted some judges to change their daily lives.