MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts says in a Supreme Court argument that federal prosecutors are using part of the federal bank robbery law to “extort” a guilty plea from defendants.

The comment Tuesday from the conservative lawyer and former Justice Department official is the latest criticism of federal prosecutors that Roberts has voiced recently.

Roberts spoke from the bench during an argument over imposing a mandatory 10-year minimum prison term on a suspect who forces someone to accompany him during the robbery or in trying to flee. The justices were wrestling with whether the distance traveled matters in figuring out whether the provision applies.

Roberts wrote the court’s opinion in June holding that prosecutors overreached in convicting a woman involved in a love triangle under an anti-chemical weapons law.