Fear And Loathing At The Supreme Court — What Is Chief Justice John Roberts Up To?
The Supreme Court's nominal leader can make a huge difference — and did this term. But where is he headed and why?
by Nina Totenberg
Jul 08, 2019
4 minutes
What was he thinking? That is the question many are asking on both sides of the political spectrum.
Chief Justice John Roberts repeatedly voted with the Supreme Court's conservatives this term, except in one, and only one, 5-to-4 decision. Written by Roberts, the ruling blocked the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 census, leaving an angry President Trump desperately trying to find a way around it.
It also left a lot of speculation about the motives of the chief justice.
For some conservatives, Roberts' vote in the census case was another original sin, much like his vote in 2012 to uphold key provisions of Obamacare. The chairman of the American
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