By John G. Roberts Jr. Chief Justice of the United States In 1776, England’s 13 American colonies declared their
independence from British rule. Those new states found
strength and unity in firmly held principles. Their
Declaration of Independence professed that government
exists to serve the people, the people have inalienable rights, and government secures those rights through adherence to
the rule of law.
After the fighting ceased on the battlefields, the principles that had ignited a revolution found expression in a written constitution. The Constitution of the United States is
a compact among the American people that guarantees
individual liberty and fulfills that promise through the
establishment of a democratic government in which those
who write, enforce, and interpret the law must obey the law as well.
The Constitution prescribes a central role for the Supreme Court in the United States’ system of government. It
establishes the Court as an independent judicial body whose judgments are insulated from the influence of popular
opinion and the coordinate branches of government. The
Court instead is constrained by the principle of fidelity to the law itself. The Constitution requires the Court to adjudicate disputes, regardless of the identity of the parties, according to what the Constitution and duly enacted laws require.
Those of us who have the high privilege of serving on the Supreme Court know that the Court has earned the respect
of its nation’s citizens by adhering to the principles that motivated the United States’ Declaration of Independence, that find expression in its Constitution, and that continue to unite the American people. I hope that those revolu-tionary principles, which are the foundation of the United States’ enduring democracy, are a source of inspiration for nations throughout the world. 1
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. ©AP Images/Lauren Victoria Burke 2