Condemning President Trump’s Attacks on the Supreme Court

New York City Bar Association Statement

President Donald Trump’s personal attacks on Justices of the United States Supreme Court in the wake of the Court’s ruling in Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump, No. 24-1287, constitute a calculated and dangerous assault on the independence of the judiciary and on our constitutional system of separated powers.

Friday’s long awaited Supreme Court decision by a six-Justice majority held that, unless authorized by Congress, the president lacks authority to levy tariffs against foreign nations and that the International Economic Emergency Act does not provide such authorization. Within hours of the ruling, President Trump attacked individual members of the Court as “unpatriotic and disloyal to the Constitution.” In a partisan personal attack, the President railed against the six Justices who struck down the constitutionality of the tariffs. The President called the “Democratic” justices who ruled against the Administration a “disgrace to our nation.” And he accused the “Republican” justices in the majority of being “fools,” “lapdogs,” and chillingly, “an embarrassment to their families.” Even more troubling, the President asserted, without any evidentiary support, that the majority had been “swayed by foreign interests,” a direct insinuation of disloyalty to the country or corruption that could create a pretext for a politicized investigation or prosecution.

False personal attacks of this nature, coming from the elected leader of our country, have no place in our public discourse,  undermine our constitutional government, and endanger the personal safety of our judiciary. In his 2024 year-end report, Chief Justice John Roberts warned of the grave risks to our democracy posed by rhetoric intended to intimidate judges for performing their constitutional duties. While recognizing that fair criticism of judicial opinions is a valued and protected feature of our republic, the Chief Justice drew a clear distinction between principled disagreement and personal attacks or unfounded allegations of political bias.[1] As he wrote, “[a]ttempts to intimidate judges for their rulings in cases are inappropriate and should be vigorously opposed.”[2] Chief Justice Roberts further cautioned that public officials must be mindful that intemperate statements about judges may prompt dangerous reactions by others.[3] The Supreme Court knows firsthand the dangerous reactions that may be stirred up by inciteful rhetoric and so does Mr. Trump.

The Supreme Court and lower courts have already experienced an alarming rise in threats and acts of intimidation directed at judges in recent years. Statements from the President that portray judges as corrupt, disloyal, or enemies of the nation normalize hostility toward the judiciary and erode public confidence in the fair and impartial administration of justice. President Trump’s statement that Justices Barrett and Gorsuch are “an embarrassment to their families” is particularly irresponsible given attacks on family members of judges in recent years, including the 2020 murder of Judge Esther Salas’s son and the wounding of her husband.

This is not the first time the City Bar has felt compelled to defend the judiciary against attacks from this Administration, which has persistently responded to adverse rulings with personal attacks, calls for impeachment, rhetoric aimed at delegitimizing judges, and other methods of intimidation.[4] The Administration has gone so far as to describe itself as being at “war” with so-called “rogue judges” whose rulings it opposes. President Trump’s attack on the Supreme Court marks a further escalation of this campaign of hostility toward the judiciary. Friday’s personal and political invective has crossed a line that should compel all to speak out. While recognizing the perilous threats it faces, even the judiciary, to the extent it is able, in measured but unmistakable terms should speak up for its independence and the rule of law. [5]

The independence of the judiciary is a constitutional imperative, not a political preference. The New York City Bar Association calls on all members of the legal profession to defend the independence of the judiciary by speaking up against brazen attempts to intimidate and delegitimize a coequal branch of government. Together, we will continue to stand up for the fair and impartial administration of justice.

About the Association
The mission of the New York City Bar Association, which was founded in 1870 and has over 20,000 members, is to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession to practice with excellence, promote reform of the law, and uphold the rule of law and access to justice in support of a fair society and the public interest in our community, our nation, and throughout the world. www.nycbar.org