The Supreme Court at 250: Chief Justice Roberts, Judicial Independence, and a Court That Takes Too Few Cases

As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Chief Justice of the United States reflects on America’s founding principles in his annual Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary. But what does that report really say about the state of the Supreme Court today?

In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione unpack Chief Justice Roberts’s historical reflections, his views on the Declaration of Independence, and what judicial independence truly means in modern constitutional law. They explore whether the Declaration is merely “ancillary” or something closer to law itself—and why that debate matters.

The discussion also turns to a persistent frustration: the Supreme Court’s shrinking docket. With filings down and opinions limited, Mark and John ask whether the Court is failing to address critical legal questions that affect Americans’ daily lives—and what consequences follow when major precedents are left to “fester” in the lower courts.