Chief Justice Roberts Addresses Bar Association

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts says the Magna Carta, which turns 800 next year, was a "product of its time" that still resonates in modern American democracy.

Speaking at the American Bar Association's annual meeting in Boston Monday, he said the document - Latin for "Great Charter" - should be celebrated because it "heralded the ascent of liberty."

Roberts, who has been chief justice since 2005, said the document was meant to resolve "squabbling" between the English king and feudal barons, but also contained the framework for ideas we now consider "fundamental freedoms," including due process and rule of law.

The American Bar Association, a voluntary association for lawyers with some 400,000 members, is meeting at the Hynes Convention Center from Aug. 4 to 12.