Roberts: State of Union scene ‘troubling’

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said Tuesday that the scene at President Obama’s first State of the Union address was “very troubling” and that the annual speech to Congress has “degenerated into a political pep rally.”

Responding to a University of Alabama law student’s question about the Senate’s method of confirming justices, Justice Roberts said senators improperly try to make political points by asking questions they know nominees can’t answer because of judicial ethics rules.

“I think the process is broken down,” he said.

During the January address, with six of the court’s nine justices seated before him in their black robes, Mr. Obama chided the court for its campaign finance decision.

Justice Roberts said he wonders whether justices should attend the address.

“To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I’m not sure why we’re there,” said Justice Roberts, a Republican nominee who joined the court in 2005.

He said that anyone is free to criticize the court and that some have an obligation to do so because of their positions.

“So I have no problems with that,” he said. “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 the requirements of protocol — has to sit there expressionless, I think, is very troubling.”

Breaking from tradition, Mr. Obama used the speech to criticize the court’s decision that allows corporations and unions to spend money freely to run political ads for or against specific candidates.

“With all due deference to the separation of powers, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections,” Mr. Obama said.

Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. was the only justice to respond at the time, shaking his head and appearing to mouth the words “not true” as Mr. Obama continued.

In response to Justice Roberts’ remarks Tuesday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs focused on the court’s decision and not the chief justice’s point about the time and place for criticism of the court.

“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,” Mr. Gibbs said. “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.”

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia once said he no longer goes to the annual speech because the justices “sit there like bumps on a log” in an otherwise highly partisan atmosphere.

Justice Roberts opened his appearance in Alabama with a 30-minute lecture on the history of the Supreme Court and became animated as he answered students’ questions. He joked about a recent rumor that he was stepping down from the court and said he didn’t know he wanted to be a lawyer until he was in law school.

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