(CNN) —
As the country faces unprecedented rancor between the branches of government in the midst of impeachment proceedings, Chief Justice John Roberts urged his fellow federal judges Tuesday to promote confidence in the judiciary and maintain the public’s trust.
Americans, Roberts said, have in the modern era come to “take democracy for granted,” and the chief justice lamented the fact that civic education has “fallen by the wayside.”
“In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public’s need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital,” Roberts wrote in his annual report on the state of the judiciary, issued each New Year’s Eve.
Although the report does not specifically cite President Donald Trump’s past attacks on the judiciary, his statement is a clear attempt to bolster federal judges across the country and shore up the reputation of the judicial branch as the other branches of government have dissolved into a bitter morass. It comes as some federal judges have chosen to publicly criticize the President for his attacks on legal decisions and judges, and as Roberts himself may be called upon to preside over a Senate impeachment trial.
The judiciary can help shore up Americans’ trust in government and the law, Roberts wrote.
“We should celebrate our strong and independent judiciary, a key source of national unity and stability,” he said.
“We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear of favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity and dispatch,” Roberts wrote and added that judges should “do our best to maintain the public’s trust that we are faithfully discharging our solemn obligation to equal justice under the law.”
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Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts listens to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in January 2018.
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Roberts is seen in a yearbook photo from his prep school in La Porte, Indiana. He was born in Buffalo but grew up in northwest Indiana. In 1979, he graduated from Harvard Law School.
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Roberts shakes hands with US President Ronald Reagan in 1983. He was an associate counsel to Reagan from 1982-1986.
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As an attorney for the government and in 14 years of private practice, Roberts argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court and won 25 of them.
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In May 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Roberts to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Roberts is seen at right along with Bush's other judicial appointments.
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In 2005, Bush nominated Roberts to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
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Roberts, third from left, meets with US senators in Washington a day after he was nominated by Bush. With Roberts, from left, are Sens. Arlen Specter, Bill Frist and Mitch McConnell.
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Roberts meets with US Sen. Mary Landrieu as he makes his rounds on Capitol Hill in July 2005.
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Roberts was tabbed to replace O'Connor, but plans changed after Chief Justice William Rehnquist died in September 2005. Bush announced that he wanted Roberts to replace Rehnquist instead.
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O'Connor weeps as Roberts and other pallbearers carry Rehnquist's casket into the Supreme Court. Roberts was once a law clerk for Rehnquist.
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Roberts answers questions during his second day of confirmation hearings in September 2005. The Senate voted 78-22 to confirm him.
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Roberts' wife, Jane, holds a Bible as her husband is sworn in by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
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Roberts and his wife attend his swearing-in ceremony in the East Room of the White House.
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The Roberts walk with their children, Jake and Josie, after he took the Supreme Court bench for the first time in October 2005.
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Bush enjoys a light moment with Roberts and other Supreme Court justices on Roberts' first day. With Bush, from left, are John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter, Antonin Scalia, Roberts, O'Connor and Kennedy.
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Roberts shakes hands with President Barack Obama at Obama's inauguration ceremony in 2009.
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Roberts watches Elena Kagan sign the Oaths of Office after she replaced retiring Justice John Paul Stevens in 2010.
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Roberts administers the oath of office to President Donald Trump in 2017.
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The US Supreme Court, with newest member Brett Kavanaugh, poses for an official portrait in November 2018. In the back row, from left, are Neil Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, Kagan and Kavanaugh. In the front row, from left, are Stephen Breyer, Clarence Thomas, Roberts, Ginsburg and Samuel Alito.
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Roberts and Thomas pay their respects to the late President George H.W. Bush as he lies in state in December 2018.
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Roberts arrives at the US Capitol to preside over President Trump's impeachment trial in February 2020.
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Roberts ends the impeachment trial after Trump was acquitted.
Roberts’ statement comes at a poignant time for the chief justice. His mother, Rosemary Roberts, passed away on December 28, the Supreme Court announced, “surrounded by her family.”
Roberts, who as chief justice of the United States presides over the Judicial Conference, a body that formulates judicial policies , often chooses a theme for his annual report. Last year, as the country continued to grapple with the “me too” movement, Roberts released an update on a judicial working group’s effort to evaluate safeguards meant to protect judicial employees from inappropriate conduct in the work place.
In Tuesday’s report, he ticked off efforts by courts across the country to give the public better access to the reasoning behind judgments. However, he did not address the fact that the Supreme Court has so far declined to allow cameras in the courtroom. Instead, it issues same day transcripts of arguments, and releases audio days after oral arguments are held.
Without naming him, Roberts noted that Judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee to the high court who was denied a confirmation hearing by Senate Republicans, has spent two decades “quietly volunteering” at a local elementary school.
“I am confident that many other federal judges, without fanfare or acclaim, are playing similar selfless roles throughout the country,” Roberts wrote.
He noted that retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has spearheaded civic education by founding iCivics, a non-profit that engages students in civic learning. Justice Sonia Sotomayor has succeeded O’Connor in that effort.
Roberts joked that some meaningful learning comes through video gaming as well. “As they say, to reach people you have to meet them where they are,” he quipped.
