Gavel Grab

There’s another round of engagement between the Supreme Court and White House.

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. voiced supreme discomfort Tuesday with the scene at the president’s State of the Union speech to Congress, where he and five other justices were present. In turn, the White House quickly renewed criticism of the court’s ruling in Citizens United, which Obama had personally directed at the court in his January speech.

Justice Roberts (photo at left), addressing law students at the University of Alabama, was asked whether it was appropriate to use the address to “chide” the high court for its decision, the Washington Post reported.

He answered, “First of all, anybody can criticize the Supreme Court without any qualm.” Roberts added that “some people, I think, have an obligation to criticize what we do, given their office, if they think we’ve done something wrong.”

Roberts went on, “So I have no problems with that. On the other hand, there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum. The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court — according to the requirements of protocol — has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling.”

He also asked aloud why justices attend the annual address, according to USA Today. “To the extent it has degenerated into a political pep rally, I’m not sure why we’re there.”

Later Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs responded to the comments, saying, “What is troubling is that this decision opened the floodgates for corporations and special interests to pour money into elections, drowning out the voices of average Americans,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Gibbs did not directly address Justice Roberts’ remarks.

The White House spokesman added, according to ABC News,  “the President has long been committed to reducing the undue influence of special interests and their lobbyists over government. That is why he spoke out to condemn the decision and is working with Congress on a legislative response.”

In the view of New York Magazine, events Tuesday marked a new chapter in a long-running Roberts-Obama feud, and “with each man now plotting the next way he can undermine the other, this is a constitutional crisis waiting to happen.”

Justice at Stake executive director Bert Brandenburg wrestled in a recent commentary with drawing an appropriate line for criticism of the high court. He concluded with a caution:

“Presidents are given a bully pulpit, but they must measure the potential effects of their words on the institutional standing of the courts. The risk of using the State of the Union to showcase complaints about the courts is not just that it weakens what’s left of democratic decorum.

“The ultimate fear is that red-meat rhetoric can soften the legitimacy of the judiciary, by egging on political supporters at the expense of respect for the role of courts in our system of checks and balances. Even the most frustrated president knows that America’s freedoms have been strengthened by the reservoir of legitimacy that our courts need in order to uphold the rule of law.”

To learn more about the Obama’s State of the Union address criticism, and Justice Alito’s shaking his head in response, see Gavel Grab. You can learn more about Citizens United from Gavel Grab or from a Justice at Stake fact sheet, or the JAS amicus brief in the case.