Supreme Court

Chief Justice Roberts Defends Peers

Over participation in health-care case.

Supreme Court justices stick together: Chief Justice John Roberts used his annual report to defend Justices Elena Kagan and Clarence Thomas over calls that they should recuse themselves from the upcoming health-care case. “I have complete confidence in the capability of my colleagues to determine when recusal is warranted,” Roberts wrote. “They are jurists of exceptional integrity and experience whose character and fitness have been examined through a rigorous appointment and confirmation process.” Some liberals have called for Thomas to recuse himself, since his wife works for groups that oppose the law; and some conservatives have called for Kagan to recuse herself, since they say she may have played a role in its creation as solicitor general.