Year-End Report by Chief Justice Roberts

On December 31, 2023, the Chief Justice issued his annual written report, which focused on the future of artificial intelligence in the judiciary. He predicted that “human judges will be around for a while,” while also suggesting that “judicial work—particularly at the trial level—will be significantly affected by AI.” He gave assurances that federal judiciary committees will consider the use of AI in federal court litigation, and rejected any suggestion that, as a result of AI, “judges are about to become obsolete.”

What was especially noteworthy wasn’t what the Chief Justice wrote in the report, but what was not addressed. There was not even a mention of several of the major issues that the Court faced in 2023, namely the Court’s inability to identify the source of the leaked opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the ethics questions that badgered the Court, and the flurry of election cases approaching the Court’s docket.

The report included an appendix on the federal judiciary’s workload. During the 2022-23 term, when the number of cases argued at the Court reached near-historic lows, the number of certiorari petitions fell as well by 15% overall, and by 22% for the “paid” cases (those where the party appealing the lower court’s decision pays the $300 filing fee and the costs of printing the briefs) that account for the overwhelming majority of the Court’s merits docket.

For more information, please contact Chantel Febus, James Azadian, Christopher Sakauye, McKenna Crisp, Monika Harris, or Puja Valera.