Tom Sanders
Fri, May 2, 2025
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty/Reuters
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson received a standing ovation on Thursday after denouncing the Trump administration’s “relentless attacks” on federal judges, calling them a threat to the rule of law.
“ Across the nation, judges are facing increased threats of not only physical violence, but also professional retaliation just for doing our jobs,” Jackson told a conference of judges in Puerto Rico. “And the attacks are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity.”
Although she did not mention Donald Trump by name, Jackson’s remarks were addressed to “the elephant in the room” following repeated attacks on the judiciary by the president and his allies. Her 18-minute denunciation is the strongest statement yet by any member of the Supreme Court since the start of Trump’s second term.
In March, Trump derided Judge James Boasberg as a “troublemaker” and a “Radical Left Lunatic” after he ruled against the illegal deportation of Venezuelans to El Salvador. House Republicans have sought to impeach at least six judges who blocked key parts of the president’s agenda.
Earlier this month, a Wisconsin County Court judge was arrested by the FBI after allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest. Other judges who defied the administration have faced bomb threats and threats of physical violence.
Several judges have faced a slew of “intimidation tactics” designed to send a message that their home addresses are publicly known, including a New Jersey judge who received a pizza addressed to her murdered son.
Top Trump advisor Stephen Miller has also railed against a cabal of “Communist” judges who are determined to keep “terrorists” in the country, while Elon Musk called for judges who defy the president to be impeached in a post on X.
“The attacks are also not isolated incidents,” Jackson told the assembled judges on Thursday night. “That is, they impact more than just individual judges who are being targeted. Rather, 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,” Politico reports.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson spoke of the attacks against judges by the Trump administration. / Paul Morigi/Getty Images for The Atlantic
She added: “ A society in which judges are routinely made to fear for their own safety or their own livelihood due to their decisions is one that has substantially departed from the norms of behavior that govern a democratic system.
“Attacks on judicial independence is how countries that are not free, not fair, and not rule of law oriented, operate.”
Jackson received a standing ovation from the room of legal insiders. She pointed to similar attacks on judges who issued controversial rulings during the Civil Rights Movement and the Watergate scandal.
“Other judges have faced challenges like the ones we face today, and have prevailed,” she said.
Jackson is the newest member of the Supreme Court, and was appointed in 2022 after serving as a district court judge for eight years before being promoted to the appeals court.
Following her prepared remarks, Jackson spent the remainder of the event engaged in a discussion about her life and career with a law clerk she once served under.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson criticizes Trump's attacks on judges
Kanishka Singh Reuters
Fri, May 2, 2025
WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said on Thursday attacks by President Donald Trump and his Republican allies on judges were "not random" and seemed "designed to intimidate the judiciary."
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts rebuked Trump in March for urging the impeachment of a federal judge, laying bare tensions between the country's executive and the judiciary as Trump's sweeping assertions of power encounter judicial obstacles.
"The attacks are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity," Jackson said at a judges' conference in Puerto Rico.
Federal judges have said the Trump administration has failed to comply with court orders regarding foreign aid, federal spending and the firing of government workers. The administration disputes it has defied judges but has been critical of orders and judges that have blocked its actions.
"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," Jackson said.
Jackson, an appointee of former Democratic President Joe Biden, did not mention Trump by name but spoke about "the elephant in the room."
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor and U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson listen as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States.More
Her comments were cited in media reports from Politico and the New York Times, with Politico noting that her comments got a standing ovation.
The combative atmosphere under the Trump administration has raised concerns among some legal experts of a potential constitutional crisis.
The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority.
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