What do you know about Chief Justice John Roberts? (ACTIVITY)

TASK:

  • Read the questions about Chief Justice John Roberts and the events and rulings he has presided over during his time on the Supreme Court.
  • You need to match the correct answer to the question.
  • Write the letter of the answer in the corresponding column.

QUESTIONS / Answer
  1. When were his confirmation hearings?

  1. What did he promise when he became Chief Justice?

  1. What has the evidence of Roberts’ time on the court shown?

  1. How can you gauge who dominates the Court?

  1. Who is the “swing” justice in the Roberts’ Court?

  1. What was the composition of the Supreme Court when Roberts was appointed?

  1. What is the most important issue to study about the Supreme Court?

  1. How could the appointment of Samuel Alito have changed the composition of the court?

  1. Citizens United v FEC & National Federation v Sebelius; what is significant about these two cases?

  1. What happened in Citizens v FEC?

  1. What was the impact of the judgement in Citizens v FEC?

  1. What was significant about the decision in Citizens v FEC?

  1. What are the significant elements of Obamacare?

  1. What happened amongst conservatives after the decision on Obamacare?

  1. Apart from campaign finance, where has been a major area of progress for conservatives?

  1. Why were these rulings controversial?

  1. What have been the most significant victories for liberals during the Roberts Court?

  1. What complicates the picture of the Roberts Court even more?

  1. What decisions of the Roberts Court have conservatives been most pleased with?

  1. What decisions of the Roberts court have liberals been most pleased with?

Answers

a)US v Windsor - declared the Defence of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional
Hollingsworth v Perry - found that the initiators of California's Proposition 8 did not have 'standing' to contest a lower court's decision to declare it unconstitutional, hence preserving the right to same-sex marriage in the state

b)2005

c)That he had 'no agenda' and he would pursue a 'limited approach to constitutional interpretation'

d)Shelby v Holder - which relaxed justice department controls over voting arrangements in states with a history of discrimination against minority voters, mostly in the South

e)It does not always seem to match the views he declared during the confirmation process

f)Its ideological direction

g)A series of conservative 1st Amendment decisions have been endorsed by majorities of both liberals and conservatives:
United States v Stevens (2010) - struck down a federal law that made it a crime to create or sell dogfights videos and other depictions of animal cruelty (8-1, Alito dissented)
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (2011) - struck down a California law banning sale or rental of violent video games to under-18s (702, Breyer and Thomas dissented)
Synder v Phelps (2011) - upheld the right of anti-gay activists to protest at military funerals (8-1, Alito dissented)

h)Anthony Kennedy

i)Find out which justice is most frequently in the majority in cases that are decided by 5 votes to 4

j)Gun rights: some cases have enabled the court to strike down congressional gun controls (DC v Heller (applying just to DC) and McDonald v Chicago as violating 2nd amendment)

k)It endorsed the right of bodies such as corporations and unions to involve themselves without restrictions in election campaigns

l)7 Republican nominees and 2 Democrat nominees

m)They were the first court rulings on the 2nd Amendment since US v Miller in 1939, and the uncertainty over whether it does guarantee an individual right to gun ownership was such that the NRA was reluctant to see Heller brought to the court for fear the verdict would go the wrong way

n)It provided evidence of a return to conservative activism

o)The replacement of Sandra Day O'Connor by Samuel Alito in 2006 could have been expected to give the Roberts Court a decided conservative bias, but the evidence so far is mixed

p)They appear to point in different directions and may contradict each other

q)They have been in sentencing policy (with the support of Kennedy and in one case Roberts (Graham)) - 3 state laws have been struck down as violations of the 8th Amendment, reducing the applicability of the death penalty and life parole for under 18s:
Kennedy v Louisiana (2008) - the death penalty for any crime other than murder and crimes against the state, even the rape of a child, is unconstitutional
Graham v Florida (2010) - offenders under 18 cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for non-homicide offenses
Miller v Alabama (2012) - extended the principle of Graham, so that even under-18s found guilty of homicide cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole

r)Struck down congressional law and reversed an earlier court decision, McConnell v FEC

s)The anguish was considerable and some even called for Chief Justice to be impeached

t)Most notably the requirement for every American to have health insurance

What do you know about Chief Justice John Roberts? (ANSWERS)

Question / Answers
  1. When were his confirmation hearings?
/ 2005
  1. What did he promise when he became Chief Justice?
/ That he had 'no agenda' and he would pursue a 'limited approach to constitutional interpretation'
  1. What has the evidence of Roberts’ time on the court shown?
/ It does not always seem to match the views he declared during the confirmation process
  1. How can you gauge who dominates the Court?
/ Find out which justice is most frequently in the majority in cases that are decided by 5 votes to 4
  1. Who is the “swing” justice in the Roberts’ Court?
/ Anthony Kennedy
  1. What was the composition of the Supreme Court when Roberts was appointed?
/ 7 Republican nominees and 2 Democrat nominees
  1. What is the most important issue to study about the Supreme Court?
/ Its ideological direction
  1. How could the appointment of Samuel Alito have changed the composition of the court?
/ The replacement of Sandra Day O'Connor by Samuel Alito in 2006 could have been expected to give the Roberts Court a decided conservative bias, but the evidence so far is mixed
  1. Citizens United v FEC & National Federation v Sebelius; what is significant about these two cases?
/ They appear to point in different directions and may contradict each other
  1. What happened in Citizens v FEC?
/ It endorsed the right of bodies such as corporations and unions to involve themselves without restrictions in election campaigns
  1. What was the impact of the judgement in Citizens v FEC?
/ Struck down congressional law and reversed an earlier court decision, McConnell v FEC
  1. What was significant about the decision in Citizens v FEC?
/ It provided evidence of a return to conservative activism
  1. What are the significant elements of Obamacare?
/ Most notably the requirement for every American to have health insurance
  1. What happened amongst conservatives after the decision on Obamacare?
/ The anguish was considerable and some even called for Chief Justice to be impeached
  1. Apart from campaign finance, where has been a major area of progress for conservatives?
/ Gun rights: some cases have enabled the court to strike down congressional gun controls (DC v Heller (applying just to DC) and McDonald v Chicago as violating 2nd amendment)
  1. Why were these rulings controversial?
/ They were the first court rulings on the 2nd Amendment since US v Miller in 1939, and the uncertainty over whether it does guarantee an individual right to gun ownership was such that the NRA was reluctant to see Heller brought to the court for fear the verdict would go the wrong way
  1. What have been the most significant victories for liberals during the Roberts Court?
/ They have been in sentencing policy (with the support of Kennedy and in one case Roberts (Graham)) - 3 state laws have been struck down as violations of the 8th Amendment, reducing the applicability of the death penalty and life parole for under 18s
Kennedy v Louisiana (2008) - the death penalty for any crime other than murder and crimes against the state, even the rape of a child, is unconstitutional
Graham v Florida (2010) - offenders under 18 cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for non-homicide offenses
Miller v Alabama (2012) - extended the principle of Graham, so that even under-18s found guilty of homicide cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole
  1. What complicates the picture of the Roberts Court even more?
/ A series of conservative 1st Amendment decisions have been endorsed by majorities of both liberals and conservatives:
United States v Stevens (2010) - struck down a federal law that made it a crime to create or sell dogfights videos and other depictions of animal cruelty (8-1, Alito dissented)
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (2011) - struck down a California law banning sale or rental of violent video games to under-18s (702, Breyer and Thomas dissented)
Synder v Phelps (2011) - upheld the right of anti-gay activists to protest at military funerals (8-1, Alito dissented)
  1. What decisions of the Roberts Court have conservatives been most pleased with?
/ Shelby v Holder - which relaxed justice department controls over voting arrangements in states with a history of discrimination against minority voters, mostly in the South
  1. What decisions of the Roberts court have liberals been most pleased with?
/ US v Windsor - declared the Defence of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional
Hollingsworth v Perry - found that the initiators of California's Proposition 8 did not have 'standing' to contest a lower court's decision to declare it unconstitutional, hence preserving the right to same-sex marriage in the state