The Supreme Court released its annual end-of-year report on Wednesday, a 13-page document that is chock-full of surprising revelations.
The report is usually a bland overview of the number of cases the court heard, their outcomes, and other data points about their workload. The chief justice also writes an introductory letter accompanying the document, in which they often comment on whatever matters the court is facing.
Here are five things that stood out from this year’s report.
Trump is making the Supreme Court work more
The Supreme Court heard more cases this term than it had in any term over the last decade, according to the report. There were more than 4,200 total filings to the court, representing a 9% increase from the previous year.
Chief Justice Roberts steered clear of Trump
While Roberts has previously used the end-of-year report to criticize threats the court has faced, this year’s report seemed to steer clear of one particular threat: Donald Trump.
Trump has routinely attacked judges who ruled against him, leading some to speak out about making lifestyle changes and needing to purchase weapons to protect themselves. The president has also clashed with the Supreme Court at times when he didn’t get his way.
Stressed the importance of ‘equal rights’ for the poor and rich
Roberts noted that the court must continue to protect the right to equal treatment under the law.
“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 and laws of the United States,”
‘Oblique’ references to judicial independence
Roberts made an “oblique” reference to the importance of judicial independence, NBC News reported. He cited the control King George III exercised over the judiciary in England.
“The Constitution corrected this flaw, granting life-tenure and salary protections to safeguard the independence of federal judges and ensure their ability to serve as a counter-majoritarian check on the political branches,” Roberts wrote. “This arrangement, now in place for 236 years, has served the country well.”
Closer to the founding ideals
Roberts also took time to argue that America appears to be headed in the right direction, despite the recent challenges that Trump has presented.
“These national accomplishments illustrate that the responsibilities for living up to the promises of the Declaration rest on all three branches of our government as well as on each successive generation of Americans,” he wrote.
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