Attorney Lauren Stiller Rikleen discusses the Trump administration’s aggressive verbal attacks and social media rhetoric directed at the federal judiciary following the Supreme Court’s adverse ruling against his global tariffs. Ms. Rikleen argues that such hostile language from the executive branch incites threats against jurists and their families, ultimately endangering the physical safety of judges and undermining the foundational principle of judicial independence.
Amherst professor Austin Sarat and attorney Lauren Stiller Rikleen critique Chief Justice John Roberts’s 2025 Year End Report on the Federal Judiciary, arguing that it fails to address the recent constitutional challenges and the Supreme Court’s role in enabling presidential overreach. The authors contend that Roberts’s report offers a misleadingly sanitized view of the judiciary’s actions, ignores historical lessons from figures like Thomas Paine, and ultimately gaslights the public by omitting the Supreme Court’s complicity in the erosion of democratic norms and the rule of law.
Attorney Lauren Stiller Rikleen discusses the media’s response to Donald Trump’s executive orders at the start of his administration and their connection to Project 2025, a comprehensive plan to restructure the federal government. Ms. Rikleen argues that the media has failed on two fronts: by not adequately covering Project 2025’s blueprint for dismantling government institutions, and by reflexively framing valid democratic concerns as partisan fights, which “gives the advantage to those seeking to undermine democracy and weakens the function of journalism as a bulwark for a free society.”
Attorney Lauren Stiller Rikleen and Amherst professor Austin Sarat analyze Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’s 2024 Year-End Report and examine his pattern of using historical references in his annual reports from 2021 to 2024. Ms. Rikleen and Professor Sarat argue that Roberts uses selective historical examples and appeals to judicial independence as rhetorical devices to deflect attention from ethical concerns within the Supreme Court, particularly regarding Justice Clarence Thomas’s alleged ethical lapses and Roberts’s own refusal to enforce stronger ethical standards for the Court.
Lauren Stiller Rikleen examines Project 2025’s proposals for presidential power in light of Senator Whitehouse’s report “Unworthy of Reliance,” which details how the Trump administration constrained the FBI’s 2018 supplemental investigation into sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Ms. Rikleen argues that the Kavanaugh confirmation process, where the White House secretly limited the FBI’s investigation while publicly claiming it had “free rein,” serves as a real-world example of how Project 2025’s vision of presidential control over independent agencies has already been implemented and threatens American democracy.
Lauren Stiller Rikleen reflects on the legacy of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, highlighting her respect for judicial restraint and precedent, particularly in cases regarding reproductive rights. Contrasting O’Connor’s approach with the current Supreme Court's inclination influenced by the Federalist Society, Ms. Rikleen suggests that the Court’s current Justices could benefit from O’Connor’s example of independence and commitment to precedent. She also discusses the shift in the Court’s composition and ideology following O’Connor's retirement, noting the increasing influence of the Federalist Society in shaping a judiciary more ideologically driven and less bound by precedent, as exemplified by recent decisions like the overturning of Roe v. Wade.