Roberts accuses liberal justices of power grab in affirmative action opinion.

Chief Justice John Roberts Slams Liberal Justices in Affirmative Action Decision

In a scathing response to the liberal justices, Chief Justice John Roberts accused them of burying a power grab in their dissents. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, with Justice Elena Kagan concurring, were specifically called out for divorcing the case from its context in an effort to make the Court the arbiter of preferential treatment based on race.

Roberts addressed the dissent on page 46 of his opinion, stating that the dissenting justices had ignored crucial parts of the law they did not like. He emphasized the unambiguous requirements of the Equal Protection Clause and the demands to end race-based admissions programs that were overlooked by the dissenting justices.

Roberts expressed his concern over the dissent’s defense of a judiciary that picks winners and losers based on the color of their skin. He criticized the inconsistency of allowing certain programs to continue while prohibiting discrimination against black and Latino applicants. He quoted Justice Brown’s statement that “separate but equal is inherently unequal” and highlighted the dissent’s reliance on subjective judgment.

The Chief Justice further criticized the liberal justices’ attempt to reserve for the Court the power to determine which races deserve preferential treatment. He compared this to decisions made before the “Second Founding,” when the 14th Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause put an end to the Court’s authority in this matter.

Roberts concluded by rejecting the dissent’s claim to power, calling it “remarkably wrong” and emphasizing the Constitution’s color-blindness and rejection of class distinctions among citizens.

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