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John Roberts

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John Roberts



 
 
John Glover Roberts, Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is the seventeenth and current Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States

The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal courts and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States....
. Appointed by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush

George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
 in 2005, Roberts generally votes with the conservative
Judicial philosophy

Judicial philosophy is the set of ideas and beliefs which dictate how List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States and United States federal judge of the United States federal courts may rule in many cases....
 wing of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
. Before joining the Court, he was a judge on the D.C. Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the Federal Government of the United States appellate court for the U.S....
 for two years, having previously spent fourteen years in private law practice
Law of the United States

The law of the United States was originally largely derived from the common law system of English law, which was in force at the time of the American Revolutionary War....
 and serving in the Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice

The United States Department of Justice is a United States Cabinet department in the United States government of the United States designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans ....
 and Office of the White House Counsel
White House Counsel

The White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States....
 during the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California . Born in Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s, where he was an actor, president of the Screen Actors Guild , and a spokesman for General Electric ....
 and George H.W. Bush.

rts was born in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York

Buffalo , is the second largest city in the state of New York. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the county seat of Erie County, New York....
, on January 27, 1955, the son of John Glover (Jack) Roberts, Sr.






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John Glover Roberts, Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is the seventeenth and current Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States

The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal courts and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States....
. Appointed by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush

George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
 in 2005, Roberts generally votes with the conservative
Judicial philosophy

Judicial philosophy is the set of ideas and beliefs which dictate how List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States and United States federal judge of the United States federal courts may rule in many cases....
 wing of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
. Before joining the Court, he was a judge on the D.C. Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the Federal Government of the United States appellate court for the U.S....
 for two years, having previously spent fourteen years in private law practice
Law of the United States

The law of the United States was originally largely derived from the common law system of English law, which was in force at the time of the American Revolutionary War....
 and serving in the Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice

The United States Department of Justice is a United States Cabinet department in the United States government of the United States designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans ....
 and Office of the White House Counsel
White House Counsel

The White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States....
 during the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California . Born in Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s, where he was an actor, president of the Screen Actors Guild , and a spokesman for General Electric ....
 and George H.W. Bush.

Early years

Roberts was born in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York

Buffalo , is the second largest city in the state of New York. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the county seat of Erie County, New York....
, on January 27, 1955, the son of John Glover (Jack) Roberts, Sr. (1928-2008) and Rosemary, née Podrasky. All of his maternal great-grandparents were from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe that existed from October 1918 until 1992 . On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia dissolution of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia....
. His father was a plant manager with Bethlehem Steel
Bethlehem Steel

The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S....
. When Roberts was in second grade, his family moved to the beachside town of Long Beach, Indiana
Long Beach, Indiana

Long Beach is a town in Michigan Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, LaPorte County, Indiana, Indiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, Long Beach population was 1,559....
. He grew up with three sisters: Kathy, Peggy, and Barbara.

Roberts attended Notre Dame Elementary School, a Catholic grade school
Catholic school

Catholic schools are education ministries of the Roman Catholic Church. Presently, the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system....
 in Long Beach
Long Beach

Long Beach may refer to:...
, and then La Lumiere School
La Lumiere School

La Lumiere School, in La Porte, Indiana, Indiana, United States, is a private, college preparatory boarding and day school founded in 1963....
, a Catholic boarding school
Boarding school

A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers....
 in LaPorte, Indiana
LaPorte, Indiana

La Porte is a city in La Porte County, Indiana, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was 21,621 at the United States Census, 2000....
 and was an excellent student and athlete. He studied five years of Latin (in his four years) and some French, and was known for his devotion to his studies. He was captain of his football
American football

American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive team sport known for mixing strategy with physical play....
 team (he later described himself as a "slow-footed linebacker"), and was a Regional Champion in wrestling. He participated in choir and drama, co-edited the school newspaper, and served on the athletic council and the Executive Committee of the Student Council.

He attended Sacred Heart University
Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University is a Catholic university located in suburban Fairfield, Connecticut, Connecticut, near the border with Bridgeport, Connecticut....
 and transferred to Harvard College
Harvard College

Harvard College is the undergraduate section and oldest school of Harvard University, a private university in the United States founded in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature....
 for his sophomore year, eventually graduating with an A.B. in history summa cum laude in three years, before attending Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, it is the United States' oldest law school in continuous operation....
, was the managing editor of the Harvard Law Review
Harvard Law Review

The Harvard Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School....
, and graduated with his J.D. magna cum laude.

Early legal career

After graduating from law school, Roberts served as a law clerk
Law clerk

A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in Legal research issues before the court and in writing Legal opinion....
 for Judge Henry Friendly
Henry Friendly

Henry Jacob Friendly was a prominent judge in the United States, who sat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1959 through 1974 and in senior status until his death by suicide in 1986....
 on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, and the court has appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court in the following United States federal judicial district:...
 for one year. From 1980 to 1981, he clerked
List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States

Law clerks have assisted Supreme Court Justices in various capacities since the first one was hired by Justice Horace Gray in the 1880s. By the traditions and rules that have developed around this procedure today Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States on the Supreme Court of the United States have the opportunity to select four...
 for then-Associate Justice William Rehnquist
William Rehnquist

William Hubbs Rehnquist was an Law of the United States, United States federal courts, and a Politics of the United States who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States....
 on the United States Supreme Court. From 1981 to 1982, he served in the Reagan
Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California . Born in Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s, where he was an actor, president of the Screen Actors Guild , and a spokesman for General Electric ....
 administration as a Special Assistant to U.S. Attorney General
United States Attorney General

The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the government of the United States....
 William French Smith
William French Smith

William French Smith was an American lawyer and the 74th Attorney General of the United States.Born in Wilton, New Hampshire, he received his A.B....
. From 1982 to 1986, Roberts served as Associate Counsel to the President under White House Counsel Fred Fielding.

Roberts entered private law practice in 1986 as an associate at the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
-based law firm
Law firm

A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service provided by a law firm is to advise consumers about their legal rights and Obligation, and to represent their clients in civil case or Criminal law, business transactions and other matters in which legal assistance is sought....
 of Hogan & Hartson
Hogan & Hartson

Founded in 1904, Hogan & Hartson is the oldest major law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a global firm with more than 1,100 lawyers in 27 offices worldwide, including offices in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia....
, but left to serve in the George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. Bush held a variety of political positions prior to his presidency, including Vice President of the United States in the administration of Ronald Reagan and Director of Central Intelligence under Gerald R....
 administration as Principal Deputy Solicitor General
United States Solicitor General

The United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to argue for the Government of the United States in front of the Supreme Court of the United States whenever the government is party to a case....
 from 1989 to 1993. During this time, Roberts argued 39 cases for the government before the Supreme Court, prevailing in 25 of them. He represented 18 states in United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft

United States v. Microsoft was a set of consolidated civil actions filed against Microsoft Corporation on May 18, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S....
.

In 1992, George H. W. Bush nominated Roberts to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the Federal Government of the United States appellate court for the U.S....
, but no Senate vote was held, and Roberts' nomination expired when Bush left office after losing the 1992 presidential election. Roberts returned to Hogan & Hartson as a partner and became the head of the firm's appellate practice, in addition to serving as an adjunct faculty member at the Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center

Georgetown University Law Center is Georgetown University's law school, located in Washington, D.C. According to the 2009 edition of U.S. News & World Report, Georgetown Law is the #14 ranked law school in the nation overall, and is #1 in clinical programs, #4 in environmental law, #5 in trial advocacy, #8 in healthcare law, #4 in inter...
. In his capacity as head of Hogan & Hartson's appellate practice, Roberts argued a total of 39 cases before the Supreme Court, including:

Case Argued Decided Represented
First Options v. Kaplan
First Options v. Kaplan

, Case citation , was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States....
,
March 22, 1995 May 22, 1995 Respondent
Adams v. Robertson
Adams v. Robertson

Adams v. Robertson, Case citation , was a legal case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States.External links...
,
January 14, 1997 March 3, 1997 Respondent
Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government
Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government

Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, Case citation , was a case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. The local tribal council in Venetie, Alaska, wanted to collect tax from non-tribal members doing business on tribal lands....
,
December 10, 1997 February 25, 1998 Petitioner
Feltner v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc.
Feltner v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc.

Feltner v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc., Case citation , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled, deciding, where there is to be an award of statutory damages in a copyright infringement case, if there is a right to demand a jury trial....
,
January 21, 1998 March 31, 1998 Petitioner
National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Smith
National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Smith

National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Smith, Case citation , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the National Collegiate Athletic Association's receipt of dues payments from colleges and universities which received federal funds was not sufficient to subject the NCAA to a lawsuit under Title IX....
,
January 20, 1999 February 23, 1999 Petitioner
Rice v. Cayetano
Rice v. Cayetano

Rice v. Cayetano, Case citation , was a case filed in 1996 by Hawaii rancher Harold "Freddy" Rice against the state of Hawaii and argued before the Supreme Court of the United States....
,
October 6, 1999 February 23, 2000 Respondent
Eastern Associated Coal Corp. v. Mine Workers
Eastern Associated Coal Corp. v. Mine Workers

Eastern Associated Coal Corp. v. Mine Workers, Case citation , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that public policy considerations do not require courts to refuse to enforce an arbitration award ordering an employer to reinstate an employee truck driver who twice tested positive for marijuana....
,
October 2, 2000 November 28, 2000 Petitioner
TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc.
TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc.

TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc., Case citation , was a United States Supreme Court decision in the area of trademark law, holding that a functional design could not be trademarked, and that a patented design was presumed to be functional....
,
November 29, 2000 March 20, 2001 Petitioner
Toyota Motor Manufacturing v. Williams
Toyota Motor Manufacturing v. Williams

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, Case citation , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States interpreted what the phrase "substantially impairs" in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 means....
,
November 7, 2001 January 8, 2002 Petitioner
Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency

Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Case citation , is one of the Supreme Court of the United States's more recent interpretations of economic due process within the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution Amendments....
,
January 7, 2002 April 23, 2002 Respondent
Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran
Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran

Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran, Case citation , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled. It decided that ERISA does not preempt the Illinois medical-review statute....
,
January 16, 2002 June 20, 2002 Petitioner
Gonzaga University v. Doe
Gonzaga University v. Doe

Gonzaga University v. Doe, Case citation , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, which prohibits the federal government from funding educational institutions that release education records to unauthorized persons, does not create a right which is enforc...
,
April 24, 2002 June 20, 2002 Petitioner
Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co.
Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co.

Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co., Case citation , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held ......
,
October 8, 2002 January 15, 2003 Respondent
Smith v. Doe
Smith v. Doe

Smith v. Doe, , was a court case in the United States which questioned the constitutionality of the Alaska Sex Offender Registration Act's retroactive requirements....
,
November 13, 2002 March 5, 2003 Petitioner


During the late 1990s, while working for Hogan & Hartson, Roberts served as a member of the steering committee of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Federalist Society
Federalist Society

The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, most frequently called simply the Federalist Society, is an organization of conservatives and libertarians seeking reform of the current Law of the United States in accordance with an Originalism....
.

In 2000, Roberts traveled to Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee is the Capital of the Florida, USA, and the county seat of Leon County, Florida. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida in 1824....
 to advise Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush

John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an United States politician and was the 43rd List of Governors of Florida Florida. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the younger brother of former President of the United States of America George W....
, then the Governor of Florida
List of governors of Florida

For governors of Florida prior to it becoming a possession of the United States in 1821, see the List of Colonial Governors of Florida.The Governor of Florida is the chief executive of the Government of Florida, and serves as chairman of the Florida Cabinet....
, concerning the latter's actions in the Florida election recount
Florida election recount

The Florida election recount of 2000 was a period of vote re-counting that occurred following the unclear results of the United States presidential election, 2000 between George W....
 during the presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000

The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between United States Democratic Party candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President of the United States, and United States Republican Party candidate George W....
.

On the D.C. Circuit

On May 10, 2001, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush

George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
 nominated Roberts for a different seat on the D.C. Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the Federal Government of the United States appellate court for the U.S....
, which had been vacated by James L. Buckley
James L. Buckley

James Lane Buckley is a former United States Senate from the state of New York as a member of the Conservative Party of New York. Buckley served from January 3, 1971 to January 3, 1977....
. The Senate at the time, however, was controlled by the Democrats, who were in conflict with Bush over his judicial nominees
George W. Bush judicial appointment controversies

During President Presidency of George W. Bush, he nominated thirty-nine people for twenty-seven different United States federal judge but the nominees were blocked by the United States Democratic Party either directly in the Senate Judiciary Committee or on the full Senate floor using a Filibuster#United_States....
. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-VT,
Patrick Leahy

Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senate from Vermont. He is a member of the Democratic Party , and is the current chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary....
 refused to give Roberts a hearing in the 107th Congress. The GOP regained control of the Senate
United States Senate elections, 2004

The United States Senate election, 2004 was an election for one-third of the seats in the United States Senate which coincided with the United States presidential election, 2004 of George W....
 on January 7, 2003, and Bush resubmitted Roberts' nomination that day. Roberts was confirmed on May 8, 2003, and received his commission on June 2, 2003. During his two year tenure on the D.C. Circuit, Roberts authored 49 opinions, eliciting only two dissents from other judges, and authoring only three dissents of his own.

During his confirmation hearings for Chief Justice, Roberts claimed not to have a set jurisprudential approach, stating that he did "not think beginning with an all-encompassing approach to constitutional interpretation is the best way to faithfully construe the document." Cass Sunstein
Cass Sunstein

Cass R. Sunstein is an United States law scholar, particularly in the fields of constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, and law and behavioral economics....
 had earlier argued at the time of his nomination as an Associate Justice that, in general, Roberts appeared to be a judicial minimalist, emphasizing precedent, as opposed to an originalism
Originalism

In the context of United States constitutional interpretation, originalism is a family of theories central to all of which is the proposition that the Constitution has a fixed and knowable meaning, which was established at the time of its drafting....
-oriented or rights-focused jurist:

Notable decisions on the D.C. Circuit include the following:

Fourth and Fifth Amendments

Hedgepeth v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 386 F.3d 1148, involved a 12-year-old girl who was, according to the Washington Post, asked if she had any drugs in her possession, searched for drugs, taken into custody, handcuffed, driven to police headquarters, booked and fingerprinted after she violated a publicly-advertised zero tolerance
Zero tolerance

Zero tolerance is the concept of compelling persons in positions of authority, who might otherwise exercise their discretion in making subjective judgments regarding the severity of a given offense, to impose a pre-determined punishment regardless of individual culpability or "extenuating circumstances"....
 "no eating" policy in a Washington Metro
Washington Metro

The Washington Metro is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C. and its surrounding suburbs. The system is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ....
 station by eating a single french fry
French fries

French fries , chips , fries, or French-fried potatoes are thin strips of potato that have been deep-frying. A distinction is sometimes made between fries and chips; whereby North Americans sometimes refer to any elongated pieces of fried potatoes as fries, while in the UK, long slices of potatoes are sometimes called '...
. She sued; the D.C. Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court's dismissal of the case, which was predicated on the Fourth
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable search and seizure....
 and Fifth
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which is part of the United States Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure....
 Amendments, and which claimed that an adult would have only received a citation for the same offense, while children must be detained until parents are notified.

"No one is very happy about the events that led to this litigation," Roberts wrote, and noted that the policies under which the girl was apprehended had since been changed. Because age discrimination is evaluated using a rational basis
Rational basis review

Rational basis review, in United States constitutional law, is the lowest level of scrutiny applied by courts deciding constitutional issues through judicial review....
 test, however, only weak state interests were required to justify the policy, and the panel concluded they were present. "Because parents and guardians play an essential role in that rehabilitative process, it is reasonable for the District to seek to ensure their participation, and the method chosen — detention until the parent is notified and retrieves the child — certainly does that, in a way issuing a citation might not." The court concluded that the policy and detention were constitutional, noting that "the question before us... is not whether these policies were a bad idea, but whether they violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution," language reminiscent of Justice Potter Stewart
Potter Stewart

Potter Stewart was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court of the United States Supreme Court. On the Court, he made major contributions to criminal justice reform, civil rights, access to the courts, and fourth amendment jurisprudence, among other areas....
's dissent in Griswold v. Connecticut
Griswold v. Connecticut

Griswold v. Connecticut, Case citation , was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected a right to privacy....
. "We are not asked in this case to say whether we think this law is unwise, or even asinine," Stewart had written; "[w]e are asked to hold that it violates the United States Constitution. And that, I cannot do."

Military tribunals

In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, Case citation , is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Guantanamo military commissions set up by the George W....
, Roberts was part of a unanimous Circuit panel overturning the district court ruling and upholding military tribunal
Military tribunal

A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to Trial members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional Criminal law and Private law proceedings....
s set up by the Bush administration for trying terrorism
Terrorism

Terrorism, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is the systematic use of terror, "violent or destructive acts committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands." At present, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism....
 suspects known as enemy combatant
Enemy combatant

Enemy combatant is a term historically referring to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war. Prior to 2008, the definition was: "Any person in an armed conflict who could be properly detained under the laws and customs of war." In the case of a civil war or an insurrection the term "enemy state" may be repl...
s. Circuit Judge A. Raymond Randolph, writing for the court, ruled that Salim Ahmed Hamdan
Salim Ahmed Hamdan

Salim Ahmed Hamdan is a Yemeni, captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, and imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay detainment camp. He admits to being Osama bin Laden's personal driver and bodyguard, claiming he needed the $200 monthly salary that came with the job....
, a driver for al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida and sometimes al-Qa'ida, is an international Sunni Islam Islamist Extremism movement founded sometime between August 1988 and late 1989/early 1990....
 leader Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden is a member of the prominent Saudi Arabia bin Laden family and the founder of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, best known for the September 11 attacks on the United States....
, could be tried by a military court because:

  1. the military commission had the approval of the United States Congress
    United States Congress

    The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
    ;
  2. the Third Geneva Convention
    Third Geneva Convention

    The Third Geneva Convention of 1949 , one of the Geneva Conventions, is a treaty agreement that primarily concerns the treatment of prisoners of war , and also touched on other topics....
     is a treaty
    Treaty

    A Treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely states and international organizations. A Treaty may also be known as: agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, exchange of letters, etc....
     between nations and as such it does not confer individual rights
    Individual rights

    Individual rights refer to the rights of individuals, in contrast with group rights. An individual right is the sanction of independent action....
     and remedies enforceable in U.S. courts;
  3. even if the Convention could be enforced in U.S. courts, it would not be of assistance to Hamdan at the time because, for a conflict such as the war against Al-Qaeda (considered by the court as a separate war from that against Afghanistan
    Afghanistan

    Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
     itself) that is not between two countries, it guarantees only a certain standard of judicial procedure without speaking to the jurisdiction in which the prisoner must be tried.


The court held open the possibility of judicial review of the results of the military commission after the current proceedings have ended. This decision was overturned on June 29, 2006 by the Supreme Court in a 5-3 decision, with Roberts not participating due to his prior ruling as a circuit judge.

Environmental regulation

On the U.S. Court of Appeals, Roberts wrote a dissenting opinion regarding Rancho Viejo, LLC v. Norton, , a case involving the protection of a rare California toad under the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 or ESA is the most wide-ranging of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s....
. When the court denied a rehearing en banc
En banc

En banc, in banc, in banco or in bank is a French language term used to refer to the hearing of a legal case where all judges of a court will hear the case , rather than a panel of them....
, (D.C. Cir. 2003), Roberts dissented, arguing that the original opinion was wrongly decided because he found it inconsistent with United States v. Lopez
United States v. Lopez

United States v. Lopez, was the first Supreme Court of the United States case since the Great Depression to set limits to Congress of the United States power under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution....
 and United States v. Morrison
United States v. Morrison

United States v. Morrison, is a United States Supreme Court decision which held that parts of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 were unconstitutional because they exceeded congressional power under the Commerce Clause and under section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution....
 in that it focused on the effects of the regulation, rather than the taking of the toads themselves, on interstate commerce
Commerce Clause

The Commerce Clause is an Enumerated powers listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with the Indian tribes....
. In Roberts's view, the Commerce Clause of the Constitution did not permit the government to regulate activity affecting what he called "a hapless toad" that "for reasons of its own, lives its entire life in California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
." He said that reviewing the case could allow the court "alternative grounds for sustaining application of the Act that may be more consistent with Supreme Court precedent."

Jurisprudence

During Judiciary Committee hearings on his nomination to the circuit court, Roberts testified about his views on jurisprudence
Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal philosophers, hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions....
.

Commerce Clause

"Starting with McCulloch v. Maryland
McCulloch v. Maryland

McCulloch v. Maryland, , was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The state of Maryland had attempted to impede operation of a branch of the Second Bank of the United States by imposing a tax on all banknote of banks not chartered in Maryland....
, Chief Justice John Marshall
John Marshall

John Marshall was an American statesman and jurist who shaped American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a center of power. Marshall was Chief Justice of the United States, serving from February 4, 1801, until his death in 1835....
 gave a very broad and expansive reading to the powers of the Federal Government and explained generally that if the ends be legitimate, then any means chosen to achieve them are within the power of the Federal Government, and cases interpreting that, throughout the years, have come down. Certainly, by the time Lopez
United States v. Lopez

United States v. Lopez, was the first Supreme Court of the United States case since the Great Depression to set limits to Congress of the United States power under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution....
 was decided, many of us had learned in law school
Law school

A law school is an institution specializing in legal education....
 that it was just sort of a formality to say that interstate commerce
Commerce Clause

The Commerce Clause is an Enumerated powers listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with the Indian tribes....
 was affected and that cases weren't going to be thrown out that way. Lopez certainly breathed new life into the Commerce Clause
Commerce Clause

The Commerce Clause is an Enumerated powers listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with the Indian tribes....
.


"I think it remains to be seen, in subsequent decisions, how rigorous a showing, and in many cases, it is just a showing. It's not a question of an abstract fact, does this affect interstate commerce or not, but has this body, the Congress, demonstrated the impact on interstate commerce that drove them to legislate? That's a very important factor. It wasn't present in Lopez at all. I think the members of Congress had heard the same thing I had heard in law school, that this is unimportant — and they hadn't gone through the process of establishing a record in that case."


Federalism

"Simply because you have a problem that needs addressing, it's not necessarily the case that Federal legislation is the best way to address it.... The constitutional limitation doesn't turn on whether it's a good idea. There is not a 'good idea' clause in the Constitution. It can be a bad idea, but certainly still satisfy the constitutional requirements."


Applying precedent

"The Supreme Court has, throughout its history, on many occasions described the deference that is due to legislative judgments. Justice Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an United States jurist who served on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932. Noted for his long service, his concise and pithy opinions, and his deference to the decisions of elected legislatures, he is one of the most widely cited United States Supreme Court justices in history, particularly...
 described assessing the constitutionality of an act of Congress as the gravest duty that the Supreme Court is called upon to perform.... It's a principle that is easily stated and needs to be observed in practice, as well as in theory.


"Now, the Court, of course, has the obligation, and has been recognized since Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v. Madison

Marbury v. Madison, is a landmark case in United States law. It formed thebasis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article Three of the United States Constitution of the United States Constitution....
, to assess the constitutionality of acts of Congress, and when those acts are challenged, it is the obligation of the Court to say what the law is. The determination of when deference to legislative policy judgments goes too far and becomes abdication of the judicial responsibility, and when scrutiny of those judgments goes too far on the part of the judges and becomes what I think is properly called judicial activism
Judicial activism

Judicial activism may be either a descriptive or a normative term, but in common usage is primarily used in a way that is both normative and pejorative." As a descriptive term, it applies to the activities of judges who, in the course of carrying out their duties, go beyond the strictly judicial function and enter into the political policymak...
, that is certainly the central dilemma of having an unelected, as you describe it correctly, undemocratic judiciary in a democratic republic."


In referring to Brown v. Board
Brown v. Board of Education

'Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka', Case citation , was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, which overturned earlier rulings going back to Plessy v....
 that overturned school segregation
Racial segregation

File:Segregated cinema entrance3.jpgRacial segregation is the separation of different Race s in daily life, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a drinking fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home....
: "the Court in that case, of course, overruled a prior decision. I don't think that constitutes judicial activism because obviously if the decision is wrong, it should be overruled. That's not activism. That's applying the law correctly."

Roe v. Wade

While working as a lawyer for the Reagan administration, Roberts wrote legal memos forcefully defending Reagan's policies on abortion. At his nomination hearing Roberts testified that the legal memos represented the views of the administration he was representing at the time and not necessarily his own. "Senator, I was a staff lawyer; I didn't have a position," Roberts said. As a lawyer in the George H. W. Bush administration, Roberts signed a legal brief urging the court to overturn Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade, Case citation , is a Supreme Court of the United States case that resulted in a landmark decision regarding abortion. According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a United States Constitution to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United Stat...
.

In private meetings with senators before his confirmation, Roberts testified that Roe was settled law, but he added that it was subject to the legal principle of stare decisis
Stare decisis

Stare decisis is the legal principle under which judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions.In the United States, which uses a common law system in its federal courts and most of its state courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has stated:...
. This told senators little - Roberts was saying only that Roe is settled law so long as the Supreme Court says so.

In his Senate testimony, Roberts acknowledged that, while sitting on the Appellate Court
Circuit court

Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions. Originally it meant a court that would hold sessions in multiple locations within its judicial district; the judge or judges would travel in a circuit in order to adjudicate cases across a wide area....
, he would have an obligation to respect precedents established by the Supreme Court, including the controversial decision invalidating many restrictions on the right to an abortion
Abortion

An abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death....
. He stated: "Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade, Case citation , is a Supreme Court of the United States case that resulted in a landmark decision regarding abortion. According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a United States Constitution to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United Stat...
 is the settled law of the land. [...] There is nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent, as well as Casey
Planned Parenthood v. Casey

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Case citation was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the constitutionality of several Pennsylvania U.S....
." Following the traditional reticence of nominees to indicate which way they might vote on an issue likely to come before the high court, he did not explicitly say whether he would vote to overturn either.

See John Roberts Supreme Court nomination and hearings
John Roberts Supreme Court nomination and hearings

The Senate hearings on the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court of the United States, began on September 12, 2005, with United States Senate posing questions to Roberts, who was Bush Supreme Court candidates by President of the United States George W....
 for speculation about Roberts's current views, concerns about these views raised in the hearings, and the potential impact they might have on his actions in the Supreme Court.


Free speech

Roberts authored the 2007 student free speech case Morse v. Frederick, ruling that a student in a public school-sponsored activity does not have the right to advocate drug use
Drug use

Drugs can be used in many different ways, as detailed below....
 on the basis that the right to free speech does not invariably prevent the exercise of school discipline.

U.S. Supreme Court


Nomination and confirmation

On July 19, 2005, President Bush nominated
Bush Supreme Court candidates

Speculation abounded over potential nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States by George W. Bush since before his presidency....
 Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 to fill a vacancy that would be left by the announced retirement of Associate Justice
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States....
 Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor is an United States jurist and the first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States....
. Roberts was the first Supreme Court nominee since Stephen Breyer
Stephen Breyer

Stephen Gerald Breyer is an American Lawyer and jurist. Since 1994, he has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States....
 in 1994. Bush announced Roberts' nomination in a live, nationwide television broadcast from the East Room
East Room

| |-| |-| |-| |-|-| |}The East Room is the largest room in the White House, the home of the President of the United States. It is used for entertaining, press conferences, ceremonies, and occasionally for a large dinner....
 of the White House
White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian architecture and has been the executive residence of every U.S....
 at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

Robertsoath6
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died on September 3, 2005 while Roberts' confirmation was still pending before the Senate. Shortly thereafter, on September 6, Bush withdrew Roberts's nomination as O'Connor's successor and announced Roberts' new nomination to the position of Chief Justice. Bush asked the Senate to expedite Roberts' confirmation hearings in order to fill the vacancy by the beginning of the Supreme Court's session in early October.

On September 22 the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Roberts' nomination by a vote of 13-5, with Senators Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy is the Senior Senator United States Senate from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party . In office since November 1962, Kennedy is the list of current United States Senators by seniority member of the Senate, after President pro tempore of the United States Senate Robert Byrd of West Virginia....
, Richard Durbin
Richard Durbin

Richard Joseph "Dick" Durbin is the senior United States Senator from the U.S. state of Illinois and Democratic Party Assistant party leaders of the United States Senate, the second highest position in the Democratic Party leadership in the United States Senate....
, Charles Schumer
Charles Schumer

Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer is the Seniority in the United States Senate United States Senate from the State of New York, serving since 1999....
, Joe Biden
Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the List of Vice Presidents of the United States and current Vice President of the United States of the United States....
 and Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein

Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the Seniority in the United States Senate United States Senate from California and a member of the Democratic Party ....
 casting the dissenting votes. Roberts was confirmed by the full Senate on September 29, passing by a margin of 78-22. All Republicans and the lone Independent voted for Roberts; the Democrats split evenly, 22 for and 22 against. Roberts was confirmed by what was, historically, a narrow margin for a Supreme Court Justice. While this margin was greater than the 1986 65-33 vote confirming Roberts' predecessor, William Rehnquist, as Chief Justice, and far greater than the 52-48 vote confirming Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas is an American jurist. He has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991, the second African American to serve on the nation's highest court ....
 as Associate Justice in 1991, it was far narrower than all other recent appointments: Stephen Breyer
Stephen Breyer

Stephen Gerald Breyer is an American Lawyer and jurist. Since 1994, he has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States....
 (87 to 9), David Souter
David Souter

David Hackett Souter has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States of the United States since 1990....
 (90 to 9), Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States on the Supreme Court of the United States. She was appointed by Democratic Party President Bill Clinton with the support of Republican Party Judiciary Chairman Senator Orrin Hatch in 1993 and generally votes with the liberal wing of the court....
 (96 to 3), Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy

Anthony McLeod Kennedy has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1988....
 (97 to 0), John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens

John Paul Stevens is the senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He joined the Supreme Court of the United States in 1975 and is the oldest member of the Court....
 (98 to 0), Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia

is an United States jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States, appointed by Republican Party President Ronald Reagan....
 (98 to 0), and Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor is an United States jurist and the first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States....
 (99 to 0).

The Roberts Court

Robertsoath
Roberts took the Constitutional
United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
 oath of office
Oath of office

An oath of office is an oath or Affirmation in law a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations....
, administered by senior Associate Justice John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens

John Paul Stevens is the senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He joined the Supreme Court of the United States in 1975 and is the oldest member of the Court....
 at the White House
White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian architecture and has been the executive residence of every U.S....
, on September 29. On October 3, he took the judicial oath provided for by the Judiciary Act of 1789
Judiciary Act of 1789

The United States Judiciary Act of 1789 was a landmark statute adopted on September 24, 1789 in the first session of the First United States Congress establishing the United States federal courts....
  at the United States Supreme Court building
United States Supreme Court building

The Supreme Court building is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United States. It is situated in Washington, D.C. at 1 First Street NE, on the block immediately east of the United States Capitol....
, prior to the first oral arguments of the 2005 term. Ending weeks of speculation, Roberts wore a plain black robe, dispensing with the gold sleeve-bars added to the Chief Justice's robes by his predecessor. Then 50, Roberts became the youngest member of the Court, and the third-youngest person to have ever become Chief Justice (John Jay
John Jay

John Jay was an United States politician, statesman, Patriot , diplomat, a Founding Fathers of the United States, President of the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1779 and, from 1789 to 1795, the first Chief Justice of the United States....
 was appointed at age 44 in 1789 while John Marshall
John Marshall

John Marshall was an American statesman and jurist who shaped American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a center of power. Marshall was Chief Justice of the United States, serving from February 4, 1801, until his death in 1835....
 was appointed at age 45 in 1801). However, many Associate Justices, such as Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas is an American jurist. He has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991, the second African American to serve on the nation's highest court ....
 (appointed at age 43) and William O. Douglas
William O. Douglas

William Orville Douglas was a United States Supreme Court Associate Justice. With a term lasting 36 years and 209 days, he is the longest-serving justice in the history of the Supreme Court....
 (appointed at age 41 in 1939), have joined the Court at a younger age than Roberts.

Since joining the court, Justice Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia

is an United States jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States, appointed by Republican Party President Ronald Reagan....
 has said that Roberts "pretty much run[s] the show the same way" as Rehnquist, albeit "let[ting] people go on a little longer at conference ... but [he'll] get over that."

Early decisions
On January 17, 2006, Roberts dissented along with Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia

is an United States jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States, appointed by Republican Party President Ronald Reagan....
 and Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas is an American jurist. He has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991, the second African American to serve on the nation's highest court ....
 in Gonzales v. Oregon
Gonzales v. Oregon

Gonzales v. Oregon, Case citation , was a Supreme Court of the United States case which ruled that the United States Attorney General could not enforce the Controlled Substances Act against physicians prescribing drugs for the assisted suicide of the terminally ill as permitted by an Oregon law....
, which held that the Controlled Substances Act
Controlled Substances Act

The Controlled Substances Act was enacted into law by the Congress of the United States as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970....
 does not allow the United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General

The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the government of the United States....
 to prohibit physicians from prescribing drugs for the assisted suicide
Assisted suicide

Assisted suicide is the process by which an individual, who may otherwise be incapable, is provided with the means to commit suicide. In some cases, the terms aid in dying or death with dignity are preferred....
 of the terminally ill as permitted by an Oregon law. However, the point of contention in this case was largely one of statutory interpretation, not federalism
Federalism

Federalism is a political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together with a governing representative head. The term federalism is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units ....
.

On March 6, 2006, Roberts wrote the unanimous decision in Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights that colleges accepting federal money must allow military recruiters on campus, despite university objections to the Clinton administration
Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the fifteenth Democrat elected to that office....
-initiated "Don't ask, don't tell
Don't ask, don't tell

Don't ask, don't tell is the common term for the policy about homosexuality in the U.S. military mandated by federal law . Unless one of the exceptions from applies, the policy prohibits anyone who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the Military of the United States, because it "would creat...
" policy on gays in the military.

Fourth Amendment
Roberts wrote his first dissent in the case Georgia v. Randolph
Georgia v. Randolph

Georgia v. Randolph, Case citation , is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that police without a search warrant could not constitutionally search a house in which one resident Consent searches while another resident objects....
, decided March 22, 2006. The majority's decision prohibited police from searching a home if, as in this case, both occupants are present but one occupant objected while another consented. Roberts' dissent criticized the majority opinion as inconsistent with prior case law
Case law

Case law is the general term for the principles and rules of law set forth in judge legal opinion from courts of law. Case law incorporates courts' decisions from individual legal case and encompasses courts' interpretations of statutes, constitution provisions, administrative law regulations and, in some cases, law originating solely f...
 and for basing its reasoning in part on its perception of social custom.

Notice and opportunity to be heard
Although Roberts has often sided with Scalia and Thomas, Roberts provided a crucial vote against their position in Jones v. Flowers
Jones v. Flowers

Jones v. Flowers, , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States involving the due process requirement that a U.S. state give notice to an owner before selling his real property to satisfy his unpaid property tax....
. In Jones, Roberts sided with the liberal bloc of the court in ruling that, before a home is seized and sold in a tax-forfeiture sale, due diligence must be demonstrated and proper notification needs to be sent to the owners. Dissenting were Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy

Anthony McLeod Kennedy has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1988....
 along with Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia

is an United States jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States, appointed by Republican Party President Ronald Reagan....
 and Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas is an American jurist. He has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991, the second African American to serve on the nation's highest court ....
. Samuel Alito
Samuel Alito

Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed by President George W....
 did not participate, while Roberts's ruling was joined by David Souter
David Souter

David Hackett Souter has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States of the United States since 1990....
, Stephen Breyer
Stephen Breyer

Stephen Gerald Breyer is an American Lawyer and jurist. Since 1994, he has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States....
, John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens

John Paul Stevens is the senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He joined the Supreme Court of the United States in 1975 and is the oldest member of the Court....
, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States on the Supreme Court of the United States. She was appointed by Democratic Party President Bill Clinton with the support of Republican Party Judiciary Chairman Senator Orrin Hatch in 1993 and generally votes with the liberal wing of the court....
.

Abortion
On the Supreme Court, Roberts has indicated he supports some abortion restrictions, but has not committed to overturn Roe v. Wade. In Gonzales v. Carhart
Gonzales v. Carhart

Gonzales v. Carhart, Case citation , is a Supreme Court of the United States case which upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. The case reached the high court after United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appealed a ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in favor of LeRoy Carhart that stru...
 (2007), the only significant abortion case the court has decided since Roberts joined, he voted with the majority to uphold the constitutionality of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act

The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act is a Law of the United States prohibiting a form of late-term abortion that the Act calls Intact_dilation_and_extraction#Partial-birth_abortion....
. Justice Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy

Anthony McLeod Kennedy has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1988....
, writing for a five-justice majority, distinguished Stenberg v. Carhart
Stenberg v. Carhart

Stenberg, Attorney General of Nebraska, et al. v. Carhart, Case citation , is a case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States dealing with a Nebraska law which made performing partial-birth abortion illegal, without providing exceptions to preserve a woman's health....
, and concluded that the court's previous decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Planned Parenthood v. Casey

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Case citation was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the constitutionality of several Pennsylvania U.S....
 did not prevent Congress from banning the procedure. The decision left the door open for future as-applied challenges, and did not address the broader question of whether Congress had the authority to pass the law. Justice Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas is an American jurist. He has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991, the second African American to serve on the nation's highest court ....
 filed a concurring opinion, contending that the Court's prior decisions in Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade, Case citation , is a Supreme Court of the United States case that resulted in a landmark decision regarding abortion. According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a United States Constitution to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United Stat...
 and Casey should be reversed; Roberts declined to join that opinion.

Equal protection clause
Roberts opposes the use of race in assigning students to particular schools, even for benign purposes such as maintaining integrated schools. He sees plans such as these as discrimination in violation of the constitution's equal protection clause and the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education

'Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka', Case citation , was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, which overturned earlier rulings going back to Plessy v....
. In Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1
Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1

Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, case citation, decided together with Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that prohibited assigning students to public schools solely for the purpose of achieving racial integration and...
, the court considered two voluntarily-adopted school district plans that relied on race to determine which schools certain children may attend. Prior to Roberts' arrival, the court had held in Brown that "racial discrimination in public education is unconstitutional," and later, that "racial classifications, imposed by whatever federal, state, or local governmental actor, ... are constitutional only if they are narrowly tailored measures that further compelling governmental interests," and that this "[n]arrow tailoring ... require[s] serious, good faith consideration of workable race-neutral alternatives." Roberts pointed to these cases in writing for the Parents Involved majority, concluding that the school districts had "failed to show that they considered methods other than explicit racial classifications to achieve their stated goals." In a section of the opinion joined by only four Justices, Roberts added that "[t]he way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race."

Administering Presidential Oath of Office


As Chief Justice, Roberts administered his first oath of office of the President of the United States at the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009. Obama had previously voted against Roberts' confirmation to the Supreme Court, making this the first time a Supreme Court justice has sworn in a president who voted against his confirmation.

During the ceremony, Roberts paused momentarily after prompting Obama with "I, Barack Hussein Obama", and the new president began repeating these words at the same time the justice continued with the next phrase. Roberts then misplaced the word "faithfully" in the text of the oath and erroneously replaced the phrase "President of the United States" with "President to the United States" before restating the phrase correctly. When the oath itself was completed, Roberts did not conclude his prompts in the first person, as is recent tradition. He instead concluded by asking Obama, "So help you God?" which the president answered with the traditional, "So help me God." The Associated Press has reported that "[l]ater, as the two men shook hands in the Capitol, Roberts appeared to say the mistake was his fault." The following evening, in the White House Map Room
Map Room (White House)

The Map Room is a room on the ground floor of the White House, the official home of the President of the United States.The Map Room takes its name from its use during World War II, when Franklin Roosevelt used it as a situation room where maps were consulted to track the war's progress ....
 with reporters present, Roberts and Obama repeated the oath correctly. This was, according to the White House, to ensure with "an abundance of caution" that the Constitutional requirement had been met.

Personal life

Roberts is one of twelve Roman Catholic justices — out of 110 justices total — in the history of the Supreme Court. He married Jane Sullivan in Washington in 1996. She is a fellow attorney, a Roman Catholic, and a trustee (along with Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas is an American jurist. He has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991, the second African American to serve on the nation's highest court ....
) at her alma mater, the College of the Holy Cross
College of the Holy Cross

The College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic Church Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States....
 in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester is a city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts in the United States. A 2006 estimate put the population at 175,898, making it the estimated second-largest city in New England, after Boston, Massachusetts....
. The Robertses adopted two children, John and Josephine.

Health

Chief Justice Roberts suffered a seizure on July 30, 2007, while at his vacation home on Hupper Island off the village of Port Clyde in St. George, Maine
St. George, Maine

St. George is a New England town in Knox County, Maine, Maine, United States. As of the United States Census, 2000, the town population was 2,580....
. As a result of the seizure he fell five to ten feet on a dock near his house but suffered only minor scrapes. He was taken by private boat to the mainland (which is several hundred yards from the island) and was then taken by ambulance to Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport
Rockport, Maine

Rockport is a New England town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,209 at the 2000 United States Census. Rockport is a popular tourist destination and art colony....
, where he stayed overnight, according to Supreme Court spokesperson Kathy Arberg. Doctors called the incident a benign idiopathic
Idiopathic

Idiopathic is an adjective used primarily in medicine meaning arising spontaneously or from an obscure or unknown cause. From Greek ?d???, idios + p????, pathos , it means approximately "a disease of its own kind."...
 seizure, which means there was no obvious physiological cause.

Roberts had suffered a similar seizure in 1993. After this first seizure, Roberts temporarily limited some of his activities, such as driving. According to Senator Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter

Arlen Specter is the senior senator United States Senate from Pennsylvania and a member of the United States Republican Party. Elected in 1980, he is currently the Seniority in the United States Senate as well as 5th most senior Republican in this body....
, who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee during Roberts' nomination to be Chief Justice in 2005, senators were aware of this seizure when they were considering his nomination, but the committee did not think it was significant enough to bring up during his confirmation hearings. Federal judges are not required by law to release information about their health.

According to neurologist
Neurology

Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the Central nervous system, Peripheral nervous system, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and...
 Dr. Marc Schlosberg of Washington Hospital Center
Washington Hospital Center

Washington Hospital Centeris the largest private hospital in Washington, D.C..A member of MedStar Health, the Non-profit hospital Hospital Center is licensed for 926 beds and, on average, operates near capacity....
, who has no direct connection to the Roberts case, someone who has had more than one seizure without any other cause is by definition determined to have epilepsy
Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizure s. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain....
. After two seizures, the likelihood of another at some point is greater than 60 percent. Dr. Steven Garner of New York Methodist Hospital
New York Methodist Hospital

New York Methodist Hospital is a prominent hospital located between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, on Sixth Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn in Brooklyn, New York....
, who is also uninvolved with the case, said that Roberts' previous history of seizures means that the second incident may be less serious than if this were a newly-emerging problem.

The Supreme Court said in a statement Roberts has "fully recovered from the incident," and a neurological evaluation "revealed no cause for concern." Sanjay Gupta
Sanjay Gupta

Sanjay Gupta, M.D. is an United States neurosurgeon and media personality on health-related issues based in Atlanta, Georgia. An assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, he is best known as CNN's chief medical corresponde...
, a CNN
CNN

Cable News Network, almost always referred to by its initialism CNN, is a major US Cable News Network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first station to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television network in the United States....
 contributor and a neurosurgeon not directly involved in Roberts' case, said when an otherwise healthy person has a seizure, his doctor would investigate whether the patient had started any new medications and had normal electrolyte levels. If those two things were normal, then a brain scan would be performed. If Roberts does not have another seizure within a relatively short time period, Gupta said he was unsure if Roberts would be given the diagnosis of epilepsy. He said the Chief Justice may need to take an anti-seizure medication.

Personal finances

According to a 16-page financial disclosure form Roberts submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, the upper house of the United States Congress....
 prior to his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, his net worth was more than $6 million, including $1.6 million in stock holdings. At the time Roberts left private practice to join the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2003, he took a pay cut from $1 million a year to $171,800; as Chief Justice his salary is $217,400. Roberts also holds a one-eighth interest in a cottage in Knocklong, an Irish village in County Limerick
County Limerick

County Limerick is a county in the province of Munster, located in the mid-west of Ireland with County Clare to the north, County Cork to the south, County Kerry to the west and County Tipperary to the east....
, where his wife's family roots lie.

Bibliography of articles by John G. Roberts Jr.

The University of Michigan Law Library (External Links, below) has compiled fulltext links to these articles and a number of briefs and arguments.

  • Developments in the Law — Zoning, "The Takings Clause," 91 Harv. L. Rev. 1462 (1978). (Section III of a longer article beginning on p. 1427)
  • Comment, "Contract Clause — Legislative Alteration of Private Pension Agreements: Allied Structural Steel Co. v. Spannaus," 92 Harv. L. Rev. 86 (1978). (Subsection C of a longer article beginning on p. 57)
  • New Rules and Old Pose Stumbling Blocks in High Court Cases, Legal Times
    Legal Times

    Legal Times is a weekly legal newspaper based in Washington, D.C. It is a sibling publication of The American Lawyer....
    , February 26, 1990, co-authored with E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr.*Riding the Coattails of the Solicitor General, Legal Times
    Legal Times

    Legal Times is a weekly legal newspaper based in Washington, D.C. It is a sibling publication of The American Lawyer....
    , March 29, 1993.
  • The New Solicitor General and the Power of the Amicus, The Wall Street Journal
    The Wall Street Journal

    The Wall Street Journal is an English language international daily newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company in New York, New York with Asian and European editions....
    , May 5, 1993.*Forfeitures: Does Innocence Matter?, New Jersey Law Journal, October 9, 1995.
  • Thoughts on Presenting an Effective Oral Argument, School Law in Review (1997).
  • The Bush Panel, 2003 BYU L. Rev. 62 (2003). (Part of a tribute to Rex. E. Lee beginning on p. 1. "The Bush Panel" contains a speech by Roberts.)*

See also

  • List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
    List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States

    This is a list of past and present justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Both Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and Chief Justice of the United States are nominated by the President of the United States and Advice and consent by the United States Senate....
  • List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
    List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States

    Law clerks have assisted Supreme Court Justices in various capacities since the first one was hired by Justice Horace Gray in the 1880s. By the traditions and rules that have developed around this procedure today Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States on the Supreme Court of the United States have the opportunity to select four...
  • List of United States Chief Justices by time in office
    List of United States Chief Justices by time in office

    This is a list of Chief Justice of the United States by time in office. This is based on the difference between dates; if counted by number of calendar days all the figures would be one greater....
  • List of U.S. Supreme Court Justices by time in office
  • United States Supreme Court cases during the Roberts Court
    List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Roberts Court

    This is a chronological Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by the Supreme Court of the United States during the tenure of Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts ....


Further reading


News articles

  • "Roberts Listed in Federalist Society '97-98 Directory". Washington Post. July 25, 2005.
  • "Appellate judge Roberts is Bush high-court pick." MSNBC. July 19, 2005.
  • Argetsinger, Amy, and Jo Becker. "The nominee as a young pragmatist: under Reagan, Roberts tackled tough issues." Washington Post. July 22, 2005.
  • Barbash, Fred, et al.: "Bush to nominate Judge John G. Roberts Jr." Washington Post. July 19, 2005.
  • Becker, Jo, and R. Jeffrey Smith. "Record of accomplishment — and some contradictions." Washington Post. July 20, 2005.
  • Bumuller, Elisabeth, and David Stout: "President chooses conservative judge as nominee to court." New York Times. July 19, 2005.
  • "Bush: Meeting with Roberts during recount wasn't political." Associated Press. July 23, 2005.
  • Entous, Adam. "Bush picks conservative Roberts for Supreme Court." Reuters. July 19, 2005.
  • Kallestad, Brent. "Roberts helped counsel Jeb Bush." Associated Press. July 21, 2005.
  • Lane, Charles. "Federalist affiliation misstated: Roberts does not belong to group." Washington Post. July 21, 2005.
  • Lane, Charles. "Short record as judge is under a microscope." Washington Post. July 21, 2005.
  • Groppe, Maureen, and John Tuohy. "If you ask John where he's from, he says Indiana." Indianapolis Star. July 20, 2005.
  • McFeatters, Ann. "John G. Roberts Jr. is Bush choice for Supreme Court." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. July 19, 2005.
  • Riechmann, Deb. "Federal judge Roberts is Bush's choice." Associated Press. July 20, 2005.
  • "Roberts: A smart, self-effacing 'Eagle Scout
    Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)

    Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . Those who attain this rank are called an Eagle Scout or Eagle....
    '." Associated Press. July 20, 2005.
  • "Who Is John G. Roberts Jr.?" ABC News. July 19, 2005.


Government/official biographies

  • "President announces Judge John Roberts as Supreme Court nominee." Office of the Press Secretary, Executive Office of the President.
  • "Roberts, John G., Jr." Federal Judicial Center.
  • "John G. Roberts biography." Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice.
  • "Biographical Sketches of the Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit." United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
  • John G. Roberts Questionnaire for Appeals Court Confirmation Hearing (p. 297–339) and responses to Questions from Various Senators (p. 443–461)


Other

  • Coffin, Shannen W.
    Shannen W. Coffin

    Shannen W. Coffin is an attorney for the Washington, D.C. law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP who until early November 2007 served as general counsel to United States Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney....
     "Meet John Roberts: The President Makes the Best Choice." National Review Online. July 19, 2005.
  • "Former Hogan & Hartson partner nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court." Hogan & Hartson, LLP. July 20, 2005.
  • Goldman, Jerry. "John G. Roberts, Jr." Oyez.
  • "John G. Roberts, Jr. Fact Sheet" La Lumiere School.
  • "John G. Roberts federal campaign contributions." Newsmeat.com. July 19, 2005.
  • "Progress for America: Support for the Confirmation of John G. Roberts"
  • "Report of the Alliance for Justice: Opposition to the Confirmation of John G. Roberts to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit." Alliance for Justice
    Alliance for Justice

    Alliance for Justice is a national association of Environmentalism, civil rights, mental health, Women's Rights, Children's Rights and consumer advocacy organizations in the USA....
    .


External links

  • at About.com
  • on the nomination of John Roberts to the D.C. circuit (Roberts Q&A on pages 17–79)
  • from The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, July 21, 2005
  • The Washington Post
    The Washington Post

    The Washington Post is the newspaper with the largest circulation in Washington, D.C., United States and is the city's oldest paper, founded in 1877....
  • The New York Times
    The New York Times

    The New York Times is an American daily newspaper published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"?named for its staid appearance and style?is regarded as a national newspaper of record....
  • The New York Times
    The New York Times

    The New York Times is an American daily newspaper published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"?named for its staid appearance and style?is regarded as a national newspaper of record....
  • The Boston Globe
    The Boston Globe

    The Boston Globe is the most widely circulated daily newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts and in New England, United States. Owned by The New York Times Company, the broadsheet Globes local print rival is the Boston Herald....