In a rare rebuke on Thursday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pointedly condemned incessant attacks on federal judges. While she didn’t explicitly name the attackers, a range of attacks have come from President Donald Trump and Republican allies in recent months and over the past year.
“The attacks are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity,” Jackson said at a conference for judges in Puerto Rico, Politico reports. “The threats and harassment are attacks on our democracy, on our system of government. And they ultimately risk undermining our Constitution and the rule of law.”
The newest member of the nation’s highest court emphasized the need to address “the elephant in the room,” as Trump and White House officials have been explicitly hostile toward judges who have ruled against the administration in cases involving the constitutionality of his actions. Cases have involved Trump’s immigration policies and his efforts to purge thousands of federal workers, shut down federal agencies, and slash funding already appropriated by Congress by law.
President Trump even suggested that U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg be impeached after he ruled against the administration’s deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts quickly slammed that suggestion. Last week, the FBI arrested a Milwaukee County judge for helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest inside a courthouse.
“The judges in our country have acted erroneously,” said Trump’s White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in March. She added, “We have judges who are acting as partisan activists from the bench.”
Justice Jackson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in 2022, urged her colleagues in the judicial branch to have “raw courage” to do their jobs without fear of retaliation.
“I urge you to keep going, keep doing what is right for our country, and I do believe that history will vindicate your service,” said Jackson.
Jackson said she felt compelled to speak out against “the relentless attacks and disregard and disparagement that judges around the country and perhaps many of you are facing on a daily basis.” She continued, “It seems as though every time I read the news or turn on the television these days, I see the affronts.”
The first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court–and who faced a hostile confirmation hearing that many said was racist and sexist–said she could empathize with her fellow judges.
“I do know that loneliness. It is very stressful to have to decide difficult cases in the spotlight and under pressure. It can sometimes take raw courage to remain steadfast in doing what the law requires,” she told them.
Jackson recalled history when judges ruled in controversial decisions during the Civil Rights Movement and the Watergate scandal, Politico reported.
“Other judges have faced challenges like the ones we face today, and have prevailed,” she said.
