John Roberts

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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.

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]

References

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