Andrew Schneider/Houston Public Media
U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal (left) interviewed U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts at Rice University, March 17, 2026.
Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Roberts visited Rice University to speak about his experiences in more than 20 years on the U.S. Supreme Court and on the state of the judicial branch.
Speaking at an event held by the Baker Institute of Public Policy, Roberts discussed the challenges of responding to public criticisms of his court’s decisions, particularly when they move from a focus on legal analysis to personalities. He spoke against a backdrop of skyrocketing numbers of violent threats against federal judges — with more than 560 such threats reported last year, according to data compiled by the U.S. Marshals Service.
“Judges around the country work very hard to get it right, and if they don’t, their opinions are subject to criticism. But personally directed hostility is dangerous, and it’s got to stop,” Roberts said.
Sign up for the Hello, Houston! daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.
Roberts also criticized the notion that Supreme Court justices carry out the agendas of the presidents who appoint them. He responded to a question by federal Judge Lee Rosenthal, who moderated the discussion, on what are some of the most serious misconceptions about the Supreme Court today. He said the idea that justices carry forward the views of the people who appointed them is ridiculous.
“President George W. Bush appointed me 20 years ago,” Roberts said. “The idea that I’m carrying out his agenda somehow is absurd. The issues here now, today, nobody would have thought those were going to be a big deal 20 years ago, and history is full of examples of presidents appointing people and being really surprised how they turned out, going both ways.”
Roberts cited Justice Felix Frankfurther, who turned out to be far more conservative on the high court than President Franklin D. Roosevelt expected, and Justice William Brennan, who performed as one of the more liberal members of the court, despite his appointment by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Roberts previously came to Rice 13 years ago as part of the university’s centennial celebration. Rosenthal asked him about his role in planning the upcoming celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Roberts reflected on the Stone engraving of the Declaration that he has in his office.
“I do just walk over and read it, and it’s in the original print, and it tells you a lot, and it’s interesting,” Roberts said. “What they’re looking at, what they want, is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and I’ve always understood those — it’s like not three different things. That’s describing a way of being. You’re alive. You’re free to do what you want and pursue your vision of what’s going to be happiness for you. And [for the Founders] to put their lives on the line to bring that extraordinary gift to the people, I think, it really is courage, is what I think we should be thinking about.”