U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concern Monday over a growing lack of civic knowledge in the United States, warning that many young Americans are coming of age with “no real sense” of how the government operates or what the legal system entails.
Speaking at Georgetown Law School, Roberts, 70, emphasized the urgency of addressing this issue, stating, “We’re developing a situation where a whole group of young people is growing up having no real sense about how our system of justice works.”
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Without naming names, the George W. Bush appointee called on the public, particularly the younger generations, to avoid launching personal attacks against members of the judiciary. His comments follow months of sharp criticism from President Donald Trump and others, including calls for the impeachment of certain judges over controversial rulings.
Roberts did not shy away from the topic, stressing that public scrutiny of the court’s decisions is not only permissible but healthy so long as it focuses on the substance of rulings and not on the individuals behind them.
“It’s a good thing, and I’m sincere. It is a good thing,” Roberts said. “I mean, the court has made mistakes throughout its history and those should be criticized — so long as it is in terms of the decision, really, and not ad hominem against the justices.”
Roberts expressed particular concern about the diminishing role of civics education in American schools. He warned that the erosion of basic understanding about the functions of government threatens the health of the rule of law.
“One area where it’s most endangered is with the younger generation,” he noted. “How many people have no understanding of what the role of courts are, what the different branches have to do, really, even the notion of what law is and what a constitution is.”
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He urged that civic education must begin early in life: “You have to start as early as you possibly can, because otherwise it doesn’t become part of their understanding of government.”
Roberts also addressed how the justices maintain a working relationship despite ideological divisions. “You find a way to get along … If you’re sort of really at each other’s throats with bad feelings and stuff like that, it just isn’t a good way to function,” he said.
In March, Roberts issued a rare public rebuke following Trump’s demand for the impeachment of a judge who halted a deportation order. Roberts responded: “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”
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