ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society

In his year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice William Rehnquist defended judges against charges of "activism," saying that lifetime tenure is a crucial component of an independent judiciary and that the relationship between Congress and the bench has been strained by calls for impeachment of judges "who issue decisions regarded by some as out of the mainstream."

Rehnquist added "Federal judges were severely criticized 50 years ago for their unpopular, some might say activist, decisions in the desegregation cases, but those actions are now an admired chapter in our national history."

Although liberals have criticized "activist" judges in the past (especially regarding those who want to overturn Roe v. Wade), the tone of the report seems directed at recent Republican criticism and threats of impeachment of judges who seek to recognize gay marriage. As White House spokesman Scott McLellan recently noted, "The activist judges are seeking to redefine marriage for the rest of society, and the people's voice is not being heard in this process."

In the rest of the report, Reinquist made only vague mention of the illness that has kept him out of the Court this term, and did not address questions about when he might step down. However, UPI's Michael Kirkland argues that the report "strongly echoes the 80-year-old Rehnquist's voice, and there is little doubt that he wrote it himself."

SCOTUSBlog has posted the entire report here, as well as further analysis.