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Entering a new Supreme Court term, John Roberts is as enigmatic as ever

Next week, John Roberts will gavel in his 20th term as chief justice of the United States. It has been an enigmatic two decades for the man in the center chair of the U.S. Supreme Court. But this October feels different, with the chief justice’s role coming under renewed scrutiny.

Chief Justice Roberts has long defied the liberal and conservative labels now routinely attached to members of the judiciary. Over years of growing partisanship and declining trust in U.S. institutions, he has cultivated a reputation as an institutionalist more concerned with the court’s public standing than with legal philosophy.

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Chief Justice John Roberts has been reliably conservative since he joined the Supreme Court. But around him the court has become increasingly conservative – and aggressive – in recent years. Is it causing him to tack to the right?

But after a term in which Chief Justice Roberts wrote landmark opinions benefiting former President Donald Trump, some court watchers are reevaluating that institutionalist image. Was last term an isolated incident? Or is the chief justice forging a new role for himself on a deeply conservative court?

“He [may have] consciously made a choice to move to the right,” says law professor Aaron Tang. Or “the big cases last term happened to involve an issue where he’s extremely conservative.”

“Only time will tell which of these two stories is the true story of the chief,” he adds.

Next week, John Roberts will gavel in his 20th term as chief justice of the United States. It has been an enigmatic two decades for the man in the center chair of the U.S. Supreme Court. But this October feels different, with the chief justice’s role coming under renewed scrutiny.

A seasoned lawyer before he joined the high court, Chief Justice Roberts has long defied the liberal and conservative labels now routinely attached to members of the judiciary. Over years of growing partisanship and declining trust in U.S. institutions, including the court itself, he has cultivated a reputation as an institutionalist more concerned with the court’s public standing than with any legal philosophy.

But after a term in which he wrote landmark opinions benefiting former President Donald Trump, some court watchers are reevaluating that institutionalist image. Was last term an isolated incident? Or is the chief justice forging a new role for himself on a deeply conservative court?

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

Chief Justice John Roberts has been reliably conservative since he joined the Supreme Court. But around him the court has become increasingly conservative – and aggressive – in recent years. Is it causing him to tack to the right?

“He [may have] consciously made a choice to move to the right,” says Aaron Tang, a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law. Or “the big cases last term happened to involve an issue where he’s extremely conservative.”

“Only time will tell which of these two stories is the true story of the chief,” he adds.

A conservative chief on a conservative court

Chief Justice Roberts has been reliably conservative since he joined the Supreme Court. But around him the court has become increasingly conservative – and aggressive – in recent years.

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