Statement of ABA President Michelle A. Behnke Re: Protecting the judiciary from personal attacks

March 20, 2026

Statement of ABA President Michelle A. Behnke Re: Protecting the judiciary from personal attacks

CHICAGO, March 20, 2026 - The American Bar Association stands firmly with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in his assertion that while legal opinions are always subject to scrutiny, "personally directed hostility is dangerous," and it's gone too far.

The ABA commends the chief justice for his remarks this week at Rice University in which he offered a defense of judicial independence in the face of increasingly personal and dangerous attacks. In recent months, there has been an alarming pattern of rhetoric targeting individual jurists with labels like "crooked" and "out of control." Such language does not critique a legal outcome; it seeks to intimidate individual judges. It undermines the public's faith in the impartiality of the courts.

As the chief justice rightly noted, judges across the country work tirelessly to "get it right." While their opinions are, and should be, subject to critical legal analysis and scrutiny, attacking the personal integrity of the men and women serving on the bench is dangerous to our democracy and dangerous to the individual judges.

The ABA is aware of and alarmed by reports of increasing physical threats, assassination plots and harassment directed at judges and their families. This creates a climate of fear that is an affront to the separation of powers. The appellate process is the proper channel for resolving legal disagreements, not personal vilification or calls for impeachment.

The ABA calls on all public officials, lawyers and citizens to engage in civil discourse that respects the role of the courts and refrains from personal attacks. The rule of law depends on an independent judiciary shielded from personal attacks and partisan pressure.