Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Says Law Is Way of Limiting Power

U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. speaks onstage during A Conversation With Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr. at Temple Emanu-El in New York City on Sept. 24, 2019. Cindy Ord/Getty Images for The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center

The chief justice of the Supreme Court told graduates of Georgetown University Law Center on Tuesday that the law is a way to limit power.

“Resolving disputes according to reason embodied in the law can involve a lot more work than leaving it all up to power,” Roberts said in four-minute virtual remarks from the court in Washington. “But limiting power through reason is a rare and special thing in the world, and worth the work.”