Difference between revisions of "John Roberts"

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(best known for building consensus, citing opinions of others)
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'''John Roberts''' is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] (2005-). He was appointed by [[President]] [[George W. Bush]] to replace [[William Rehnquist]] as Chief Justice, after having served on the Court of Appeals for the [[D.C. Circuit]].
 
'''John Roberts''' is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] (2005-). He was appointed by [[President]] [[George W. Bush]] to replace [[William Rehnquist]] as Chief Justice, after having served on the Court of Appeals for the [[D.C. Circuit]].
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Chief Justice [[John Roberts]] is known best for building a consensus, and writing opinions to maximize support by fellow Justices.  While other Justices often cite their own prior opinions, Chief Justice Roberts is a master at citing the decisions of fellow Justices to win their support for his opinion.
  
 
==Confirmation process==  
 
==Confirmation process==  

Revision as of 19:54, September 16, 2007

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John Roberts is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (2005-). He was appointed by President George W. Bush to replace William Rehnquist as Chief Justice, after having served on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Chief Justice John Roberts is known best for building a consensus, and writing opinions to maximize support by fellow Justices. While other Justices often cite their own prior opinions, Chief Justice Roberts is a master at citing the decisions of fellow Justices to win their support for his opinion.

Confirmation process

With the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, President Bush withdrew Roberts' nomination for associate justice and renominated him for chief justice, with only a slight delay in his confirmation hearings to allow for Rehnquist's funeral services. The nomination was first considered by the 18-member Senate Judiciary Committee. On September 22, the committee voted 13-5 to send Roberts' confirmation to the full Senate, winning the support of Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania), and ranking minority member Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont). On September 29, Roberts was confirmed by the full Senate by a vote of 78-22. Hours after confirmation, he was sworn in by Associate Justice John Paul Stevens at the White House.

United States Supreme Court

In his first two years on the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts has written only 24 opinions, mostly on uncontroversial or simple topics. In his first year he sought unanimity in his decisions, leading him to dilute the strength of his opinions to satisfy everyone. For example, Chief Justice Roberts obtained unanimity on a controversial Solomon Amendment opinion by stretching to satisfy protesters against military recruiters:[1]

The Solomon Amendment neither limits what law schools may say nor requires them to say anything. Law schools remain free under the statute to express whatever views they may have on the military's congressionally mandated employment policy, all the while retaining eligibility for federal funds. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 25 (Solicitor General acknowledging that law schools "could put signs on the bulletin board next to the door, they could engage in speech, they could help organize student protests"). As a general matter, the Solomon Amendment regulates conduct, not speech. It affects what law schools must do--afford equal access to military recruiters--not what they may or may not say.

Similarly, in the campaign finance case, Roberts invalidated the restriction at issue but avoided establishing a bright-line rule in favor of political free speech.[2]

Record as an Appellate Judge

Chief Justice John Roberts served only briefly as a judge on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit before being nominated and confirmed for the U.S. Supreme Court. But in one important dissent, then-Judge Roberts declared that "a facial challenge can succeed only if there are no circumstances in which the Act at issue can be applied without violating the" Constitution. Rancho Viejo, LLC v. Norton, 334 F.3d 1158, 1160 (D.C. Cir. 2003), cert. denied, 541 U.S. 1006 (2004).

Health Problems

Justice Roberts suffered a seizure on July 30th 2007 while at his vacation home in Port Clyde, Maine on Hupper Island. As a result of the seizure he fell five to ten feet but suffered only minor scrapes. The fall occurred on a dock near his house and he was taken by private boat to the mainland. Doctors called the incident a benign idiopathic seizure which means there was no obvious physiological cause. Roberts suffered a similar seizure in 1993.

References

  1. 126 S. Ct. 1297, 1307 (2006).
  2. FEC v. Wis. Right to Life, Inc., 127 S. Ct. 2652 (2007).