John Roberts

Details

Birth

January 27, 1955 · Buffalo, New York

Death

Living

Law school

harvard university

Prior experience

U.s. circuit court judge

Biography

John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is the 17th Chief Justice of the United States, having served since 2005. Born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in Long Beach, Indiana, Roberts earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1976 and his Juris Doctor magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1979, where he served as managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Henry Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and later for Associate Justice William Rehnquist. Roberts worked in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, serving as Associate White House Counsel and Principal Deputy Solicitor General, before entering private practice at Hogan & Hartson, where he argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court. President George W. Bush nominated Roberts to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2003, where he served until his elevation to Chief Justice following Rehnquist's death in 2005. Roberts is generally considered a conservative jurist who advocates for judicial restraint and originalism, though he has occasionally joined the Court's liberal wing in high-profile cases. His most significant opinion came in NFIB v. Sebelius (2012), where he provided the decisive vote to uphold the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate as a constitutional exercise of Congress's taxing power. Other notable decisions include his majority opinion in Parents Involved v. Seattle (2007), which limited race-conscious school assignment plans, and his role in various voting rights cases. As Chief Justice, Roberts has emphasized institutional integrity and has expressed concern about public perception of the Court's politicization, often serving as a moderating influence on the Court's conservative majority.

Notable opinions

• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius
• Shelby County v. Holder
• Citizens United v. FEC