Roberts leans on Lincoln

MOSCOW, Idaho – John Roberts isn’t too concerned that more people can name the judges on “American Idol” than can name him or the other members of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“It’s nice to be not always recognizable,” the chief justice of the United States said when asked about a recent survey that showed the cast of the popular television show was much better known than members of the nation’s highest court.

The bigger concern is that many people don’t know how the courts function, or understand their role in applying the law rather than making it, Roberts told an overflow crowd Friday afternoon at the University of Idaho College of Law as part of the school’s Bellwood Lecture series