Carol Platt Liebau: Judges Eroding Public Trust

Monday, September 15, 2025

Last week, NBC News conducted what it described as “rare interviews” — and indeed they were. Rarely has any news organization allowed twelve federal judges to use it to bash the Supreme Court under the cloak of anonymity.

These judges are unhappy with the Supreme Court for overturning lower court rulings involving the Trump administration with minimal explanation. Of course, there are so many of these cases because too many judges are behaving like activists rather than jurists. In fact, the Supreme Court was forced to issue a ruling limiting lower courts’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions because so many judges were abusing them to stop President Trump’s executive orders.

Americans have confidence in the judiciary only if people believe it is impartial. Anonymous interviews and partisan complaining erode the public trust that’s indispensable to the effective functioning of our third branch of government.

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