Pence spreading the word on SCOTUS rulings that don’t line up with Christian conservatives
Chief Justice Roberts in Pence’s spotlight over his recent rulings that sided with more liberal justices
August 6, 2020
Vice President Mike Pence criticized Chief Justice John Roberts in an interview aired on Thursday for supporting the Supreme Court’s siding with liberal justices, such as striking down a restrictive abortion law in Louisiana.
“We have great respect for the institution of the Supreme Court of the United States, but Chief Justice John Roberts has been a disappointment to conservatives whether it be the Obamacare decision or whether it be a spate of recent decisions,” Pence said in an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody, who released a clip of this portion of the interview Wednesday night.
According to an article published by NBC, Pence said that Robert’s rulings are a reminder “of just how important this election is for the future of the Supreme Court.”
Roberts has sided with blocking the Trump administration from shutting down DACA, which allows Dreamers to remain in the U.S., and defended the existing civil rights laws that ban job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
According to another NBC article, those rulings and others have infuriated the President and some of his supporters.
Roberts also voted that the court reject President Donald Trump’s efforts to defeat subpoenas for his personal financial documents.
Roberts has joined other conservatives on rulings such as increasing religious freedom and presidential power over independent federal agencies, according to the NBC article.
Tom Goldstein, a Washington lawyer who argues frequently before the court, said that Roberts, in contrast to Anthony Kennedy, who retired in 2018, does not write sweeping opinions that move the law to the left.
“The chief justice is more of an incrementalist than a swing justice,” Goldstein said. “He is moving the law to the right, but slowly. And the liberal justices are willing to go along with him, to minimize the damage.”
For example, Roberts voted to strike down a restrictive abortion law but his opinion set out a legal test that could make it easier for future state abortion restrictions to withstand legal attacks, according to NBC.
According to NBC, the DACA ruling left the door open for the Trump administration to try to shut the program down again, and the rulings on the subpoenas for Trump’s taxes and other financial documents sent the cases back down to the lower courts, likely delaying any resolutions until after the General election in November.
Legal scholars said that Roberts court remains a conservative one, despite the outcomes in some high profile cases.