Justice Roberts Buried for Sneering at Liberal Colleagues: 'Sit Down, Little Ladies'

Justice John Roberts, who presided over Monday's presidential immunity decision, reportedly sneered at the three justices who dissented: Associate Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. A former United States attorney, Joyce Vance, recently criticized Roberts for attacking his female coworkers in his written judgment.

Raw Story reported that Vance claimed on her Civil Discourse Substack platform that Roberts was anything but civil when he dismissed their worries about the consequences of a decision that would exonerate Donald Trump of all charges and enable the conservative court to vindicate the former president in the future. Vance stated, "The majority opinion closes with a section where the Chief Justice, in a most decidedly uncollegial fashion, criticizes the Justices who dissent." Vance further asserted that Roberts essentially advised them to "sit down, little ladies."

Vance highlighted, "Roberts tries to downplay what the Court is doing, but essentially, that comes down to saying that all that the Court is doing is saying Trump is entitled to immunity for his attempt to get DOJ to legitimize his efforts to steal the election. Perhaps worst of all is an argument the majority offers as its own that is straight out of Trump’s playbook." The 'dismissive language' used against the dissenters was very revolting, she added.

Then, Vance went on to point at another one of Robert's claims: "Unable to muster any meaningful textual or historical support, the principal dissent suggests that there is an ‘established understanding’ that ‘former Presidents are answerable to the criminal law for their official acts.’ Conspicuously absent is mention of the fact that since the founding, no President has ever faced criminal charges — let alone for his conduct in office."

As Vance pointed out, no president has ever been convicted for doing what Trump did. Vance added, "We all believe, or at least have until today, as did the Founding Fathers, that no man is above the law, not even the president. Everyone seems to understand that except for six conservative justices on the United States Supreme Court."

The 2024 electoral landscape is completely different now that the Supreme Court decision is in the books. The incumbent president, along with other future presidents, enjoys 'absolute immunity' from prosecution when it comes to their 'core constitutional powers' (such as appointing officials), and they are also presumed to be immune from punishment for any 'official acts' they do while in office. However, they can still face charges for non-official acts.

As such, the apex court's decision puts Trump's case on hold while the immunity debate continues. The lower court must now determine whether Trump is exempt from prosecution for the several crimes listed in his indictment; until then, the trial cannot proceed.

The decision, according to President Joe Biden's statements from the White House, gives any president carte blanche to disobey the law. According to the statement, "This is a fundamentally new principle and it's a dangerous precedent, because the power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law, even including the Supreme Court of the United States. The only limits will be self-imposed by the president alone."