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John Roberts

John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005.[3] He has been described as having a moderate conservative judicial philosophy, though he is primarily an institutionalist.[4][5] For his willingness to work with the Supreme Court's liberal bloc, Roberts has been regarded as a swing vote.[6][7]

For other people named John Roberts, see John Roberts (disambiguation).

John Roberts

Robert Kruger[2]

John Glover Roberts Jr.

(1955-01-27) January 27, 1955
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Jane Sullivan
(m. 1996)

2

Cursive signature in ink

Born in Buffalo, New York, Roberts was raised Catholic in Northwest Indiana and had been educated at parochial schools. He studied at Harvard University with the initial intent to become a historian, graduating in three years with highest distinction, then attended Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Before holding positions in the Reagan and senior Bush administration, Roberts served as a law clerk for Judge Henry Friendly and Justice William Rehnquist. From 1989 to 1993, he was Principal Deputy Solicitor General, after which he built a successful appellate practice and argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court.[8]


In 1992, President George H. W. Bush nominated Roberts to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, but the Senate did not hold a vote on his confirmation.[9] In 2003, President George W. Bush appointed Roberts to the D.C. Circuit.[10] In 2005, Bush nominated Roberts to the Supreme Court, initially as an associate justice to fill the vacancy left by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, but promoted him to chief justice after Rehnquist's death. Roberts was confirmed by a Senate vote of 78–22.


As chief justice, Roberts has authored majority opinions in many landmark cases, including National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (upholding the Affordable Care Act), Shelby County v. Holder (defining limits on the Voting Rights Act of 1965), Carpenter v. United States (expanding digital privacy), and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (overruling race-based admission programs). Roberts also presided over the first impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

Early life and education

Roberts was born on January 27, 1955, in Buffalo, New York, to Rosemary (née Podrasky) and John Glover "Jack" Roberts Sr., both devout Catholics.[11] His father had Irish and Welsh ancestry and his mother was a descendant of Slovak immigrants from Szepes, Hungary.[12] He has an elder sister and two younger sisters.[13] Roberts spent his early childhood years in Hamburg, New York, where his father worked as an electrical engineer for the Bethlehem Steel Corporation's factory in Lackawanna.[14]


In 1965, ten-year-old Roberts and his family moved to Long Beach, Indiana, where his father became the manager of a new steel plant in nearby Burns Harbor.[15] By age 13, Roberts "already had a clear plan for his life".[16] He attended the La Lumiere School, an academically rigorous Catholic boarding school in La Porte, Indiana,[17] where he captained the school's football team, participated in track and field, and was a regional champion in wrestling. He also participated in choir and drama, and was a co-editor of the school newspaper.[15] He graduated in 1973 as class valedictorian, becoming the first graduate of the La Lumiere School to enroll at Harvard University.[18]


At Harvard College, Roberts dedicated himself to studying history, his academic major. He had entered Harvard as a sophomore with second-year standing based on his academic achievements in high school.[19] Roberts first roomed in Straus Hall before moving to Leverett House.[20] Every summer, he returned home to work at the steel plant his father managed.[15] Although he initially felt obscured among other students, Roberts distinguished himself with professors, meriting multiple distinctions for his scholarly writing.[21] He gained a reputation as a serious student who valued formalism.[20] Every Sunday, he attended Catholic mass at St. Paul Church.[22]


Roberts focused on modern European history and maintained an interest in politics.[23] As an undergraduate, he excelled academically.[15] In his first year, he won the university's Edwards Whitaker Scholarship for outstanding scholastic achievement.[21] He intended to pursue a Ph.D. in history to be a professor but also contemplated a legal career.[24] One of Roberts's first papers, "Marxism and Bolshevism: Theory and Practice", won Harvard's William Scott Ferguson Prize for the most outstanding essay by a sophomore history major.[21] An early interest in oral advocacy led him to study Daniel Webster, a prominent advocate before the Supreme Court.[25] His senior year paper, "The Utopian Conservative: A Study of Continuity and Change in the Thought of Daniel Webster", won a Bowdoin Prize.[26]


In 1976, Roberts obtained his Bachelor of Arts in history, summa cum laude, with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. A recent surplus of history graduate students convinced him to attend Harvard Law School for better career prospects, though he maintained his original goal to become a professor.[27][a] His first-year performance in law school won him membership on the Harvard Law Review. The journal's president, David Leebron, chose Roberts as its managing editor, despite their differing political views.[27] Classmate David Wilkins described Roberts as "more conservative than the typical Harvard Law student in the 1970s" but well-liked by fellow students.[20] In 1979, Roberts graduated at the top of his class with a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, despite having to admit himself to a local hospital for exhaustion. He later regretted that during his time at Harvard he traveled into Boston on only a couple of occasions.[29]

Whether the legislative request warrants the president's involvement and whether other sources can reasonably give Congress the same information

Whether the subpoena is no broader than is reasonably necessary to support the legislative objective

Whether the nature of evidence the subpoena requests would advance a valid legislative purpose

Whether the subpoena burdens the president and may be a result of partisan politics.

Roberts, John (1978). "Developments in the Law: Zoning – III. The Takings Clause". . 91: 1462–1501. doi:10.2307/1340392. JSTOR 1340392. Section III ("The Takings Clause") of the unsigned student note "Developments in the Law: Zoning" (pp. 1427–1708).

Harvard Law Review

Roberts, John (1978). "The Supreme Court, 1977 Term – Contract Clause—Legislative Alteration of Private Pension Agreements: Allied Structural Steel Co. v. Spannaus". . 92: 86–98. doi:10.2307/1340566. JSTOR 1340566. Subsection C ("Contract Clause—Legislative Alteration of Private Pension Agreements: Allied Structural Steel Co. v. Spannaus") of Section I ("Constitutional Law") of the unsigned student note "The Supreme Court, 1977 Term" (pp. 1–339).

Harvard Law Review

Roberts, John; (February 26, 1990). "New Rules and Old Pose Stumbling Blocks in High Court Cases". Legal Times.

Prettyman, Elijah Barrett Jr.

Roberts, John; ; Mueller III., Robert Swan; Lazerwitz, Michael (1991). "At Issue: The Noriega Tapes. Yes: The Order was Constitutional". ABA Journal. 77 (2): 36. JSTOR 20761397.

Starr, Kenneth

Roberts, John (1993). . Duke Law Journal. 42 (6): 1219–1232. doi:10.2307/1372783. JSTOR 1372783.

"Article III Limits on Statutory Standing"

Roberts, John (March 28, 1993). "Riding the Coattails of the Solicitor General". .

Legal Times

Roberts, John (May 5, 1993). . The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2020.

"Rule of Law: The New Solicitor General And the Power of the Amicus"

Roberts, John (1994). "The 1992–1993 Supreme Court". Public Interest Law Review. 1994: 107.

Roberts, John (1995). "Forfeitures: Does Innocence Matter". New Jersey Law Journal. 142: 28.

Roberts, John (1997). (PDF). School Law in Review. 1997: 7-1–7-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2005. Retrieved September 10, 2005.

"Thoughts on Presenting an Effective Oral Argument"

Roberts, John (2005). "Oral Advocacy and the Re-emergence of a Supreme Court Bar". Journal of Supreme Court History. 30 (1): 68–81. :10.1111/j.1059-4329.2005.00098.x. S2CID 145369518.

doi

Roberts, John (2005). (PDF). Harvard Law Review. 119: 1–2. JSTOR 4093552. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2009.

"A Tribute to Chief Justice Rehnquist"

Roberts, John (2006). . University of Pennsylvania Law Review. 155 (1): 3–4. JSTOR 40041300.

"Tribute to Judge Edward R. Becker"

Roberts, John (2006). (PDF). Virginia Law Review. 92 (3): 375–389. JSTOR 4144947.

"What Makes the D.C. Circuit Different? A Historical View"

Roberts, John (2016). (PDF). Harvard Law Review. 130 (1): 1–2. JSTOR 44072402.

"In Memoriam: Justice Antonin Scalia"

Roberts, John (2018). (PDF). Harvard Law Review. 132 (1): 1–3.

"In Tribute: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy"

Roberts, John (2020). (PDF). Harvard Law Review. 133 (3): 747–748.

"Memoriam: Justice John Paul Stevens"

Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States

List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States

List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Chief Justice)

List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 9)

List of United States chief justices by time in office

List of United States Supreme Court justices by time in office

United States Supreme Court cases decided by the Roberts Court

Neubauer, David W.; Meinhold, Stephen S. (2005). Battle Supreme: The Confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts and the Future of the Supreme Court. . ISBN 978-0495171072.

Cengage

(2019). The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 9780465093274.

Biskupic, Joan

Snyder, Brad (December 8, 2010). . Ohio State Law Journal. 71 (1149). SSRN 1722362.

"The Judicial Genealogy (and Mythology) of John Roberts: Clerkships from Gray to Brandeis to Friendly to Roberts"

(January 2020). "A Four-Decade Perspective on Life Inside the Supreme Court" (PDF). Harvard Law Review. 133 (3): 1010–1046.

Stone, Geoffrey R.

(September 30, 2013). In the Balance: Law and Politics on the Roberts Court. W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0393073447.

Tushnet, Mark

(2013). "John G. Roberts, Jr.". In Friedman, Leon; Israel, Fred L. (eds.). The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions (4th ed.). New York, NY: Facts On File, Inc. ISBN 978-0791013779.

Friedman, Leon

Becker, Jo; Argetsinger, Amy (July 22, 2005). . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2010.

"The Nominee As a Young Pragmatist"

Goodnough, Abby (July 21, 2005). Archived October 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine The New York Times.

"Nominee Gave Quiet Advice on Recount"

Lane, Charles (July 21, 2005). . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2010.

"Federalist Affiliation Misstated"

Lane, Charles (July 21, 2005). . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2010.

"Short Record as Judge Is Under a Microscope"

. The New York Times. July 20, 2005. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2017.

"Colleagues call high court nominee a smart, self-effacing 'Eagle Scout'"

Smith, R. Jeffrey; Becker, Jo (July 20, 2005). . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2010.

"Record of Accomplishment – and Some Contradictions"

at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

John Roberts

at Ballotpedia

John Roberts

on C-SPAN

Appearances

from the Oyez Project

Appearances at the U.S. Supreme Court

at OnTheIssues

Issue positions and quotes

Judge Roberts's Published Opinions in a searchable database

Archived January 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine at About.com

Chief Justice John Roberts

List of Circuit Judge Roberts's opinions for the DC Circuit

from The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, July 21, 2005

A summary of media-related cases handled by Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr.

SCOTUSblog

List of Chief Justices, including John Roberts, Jr.

The Boston Globe

On first day, Roberts sets no-nonsense tone