Trump-aligned group sues Chief Justice John Roberts in effort to restrict power of the courts

A pro-Trump legal group founded by White House aide Stephen Miller is suing Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts — a long-shot move as Trump allies fight court rulings blocking key actions from the Oval Office.

The lawsuit was filed by the America First Legal Foundation against Roberts in his capacity as the official head of the U.S. Judicial Conference and Robert J. Conrad, who serves as the director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

The complaint accuses both the U.S. Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts of performing certain regulatory actions that go beyond the scope of resolving cases or controversies, or administratively supporting those actions, which they argue are the “core functions” of the judiciary.

It also argues that records held by the Roberts-led U.S. Judicial Conference should therefore be subject to the Freedom of Information Act requests, or FOIA requests, as a result.

AFL cited in its lawsuit recent actions taken by both the Judicial Conference and Administrative Office in 2023 to “accommodate” requests from Congress to investigate allegations of ethical improprieties by Justices Thomas and Alito, and subsequently to create or adopt an “ethics code” for justices on the high court.

“Under our constitutional tradition, accommodations with Congress are the province of the executive branch,” AFL said, adding: “The Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office are therefore executive agencies,” and must therefore be overseen by the president, not the courts.

The U.S. Judicial Conference is the national policymaking body for the courts. It is overseen by the Supreme Court’s chief justice, and tasked with making twice-yearly recommendations to Congress as needed.

The Administrative Office for the U.S. Courts, meanwhile, operates under the guidance and supervision of the Judicial Conference. Its role is to provide administrative support to the federal courts on certain administrative issues and for day-to-day logistics, including setting budgets and organizing data, among other things.

Plaintiffs for AFL, led by attorney Will Scolinos, argued in their lawsuit that the Judicial Conference’s duties are “executive functions,” and functions they allege must be supervised by executive officers “who are appointed and accountable to other executive officers.”

Further, AFL argued, “Courts definitively do not create agencies to exercise functions beyond resolving cases or controversies or administratively supporting those functions.”

In their view, this is also sufficient to put the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts — as it is overseen by the Judicial Conference — under the executive branch as well.

Scolinos argued that AFL’s proposed framework “preserves the separation of powers but also keeps the courts out of politics.”

U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, a Trump appointee, has been assigned to preside over the case.

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