A look at US Supreme Court 2025 docket and a warning from Chief Justice Roberts

[Karah Rucker]

JUST AHEAD OF MAJOR RULINGS EXPECTED BY THE U.S. SUPREME COURT IN 2025 –

CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS IS EXPRESSING CONCERNS OVER WHAT HE DESCRIBES AS GROWING DISREGARD FOR THE HIGH COURT..

HE SAYS THE UNITED STATES MUST MAINTAIN “JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE” BY HONORING COURT DECISIONS NO MATTER THE POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS OF RULINGS.

ROBERTS SAYING IN HIS YEAR-END REPORT –

“Within the past few years, however, elected officials from across the political spectrum have raised the specter of open disregard for federal court rulings. These dangerous suggestions, however sporadic, must be soundly rejected. Judicial independence is worth preserving.”

THE CHIEF JUSTICE ALSO ISSUED WARNING OVER A RISE IN VIOLENCE DIRECTED TOWARD JUDGES FOR DOING THEIR JOBS –

NOTING THAT THE NUMBER OF HOSTILE THREATS DIRECTED AT JUDGES HAS MORE THAN TRIPLED IN THE PAST DECADE.

ROBERTS SUGGESTS THAT ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THE INCREASE IN THREATS AGAINST JUDGES – IS PUBLIC OFFICIALS WHO SUGGEST THERE IS POLITICAL BIAS IN JUDICIAL RULINGS – WITHOUT CREDIBLE EVIDENCE.

ROBERTS SAYING WHILE PUBLIC OFFICIALS ARE ENTITLED TO CRITICIZE THE JUDICIARY, “IRRESPONSIBLE RHETORIC CAN FUEL DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR.”

ROBERTS WROTE –

“It is not in the nature of judicial work to make everyone happy. Most cases have a winner and a loser. Every Administration suffers defeats in the court system—sometimes in cases with major ramifications for executive or legislative power or other consequential topics. Nevertheless, for the past several decades, the decisions of the courts, popular or not, have been followed, and the Nation has avoided the standoffs that plagued the 1950s and 1960s.”

THE HIGH COURT’S CHIEF JUSTICE ISSUED A WARNING THAT COURT RULINGS MUST BE FOLLOWED AND RESPECTED – 

AT A TIME WHEN THE SUPREME COURT HEADS INTO A NEW YEAR WITH SEVERAL HIGH-STAKES CASES ON ITS DOCKET –

SOME OF WHICH – COULD HAVE SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS.

ATTENTION IS LARGELY FOCUSED ON FIVE MAJOR CASES.

One of the most closely watched cases is the challenge to a proposed ban on TikTok.

The ban, which concerns national security due to the app’s ties to China, was signed into law by President Joe Biden. The Supreme Court will weigh in on whether the app should be banned unless sold to a U.S. company. 

The Court will also rule on the constitutionality of a Tennessee law banning transgender surgeries and hormone treatments for minors. The case could set precedent for similar laws in other states.

The Court will decide whether the federal government can regulate “ghost guns”—firearms made from kits that lack serial numbers. the justices will consider whether such kits, which can be assembled at home, should be classified as firearms subject to federal regulation. 

THE U.S. SUPREME COURT IS SET TO HEAR A CHALLENGE TO A TEXAS LAW REQUIRING age verification for visitors to pornography websites. The outcome could influence similar age-verification laws in around 20 states.

AND The Court will also hear a case concerning the scope of environmental impact assessments required by the National Environmental Policy Act – THE JUSTICES will consider how broad the environmental considerations should be for federal agency actions.

WITH THE HIGH COURT EXPECTED TO RULE ON MAJOR CASES THAT WILL MAKE  POLITICAL AND SOCIETAL CHANGES – 

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS IS COMING OUT AHEAD OF TIME –

WARNING THAT WHATEVER THE COURT RULES –

IT WILL LIKELY NEGATIVELY IMPACT ONE SIDE OF THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM –

BUT IT WILL BE THE LAW OF THE LAND – AS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT INTENDED IT TO BE.