Why John Roberts’ image as a 'moderate centrist' is total 'hogwash': analysis

18 September 2024

For decades, many liberals and progressives — as well as right-wing libertarians — were often pleasantly surprised by Ronald Reagan-appointed U.S. Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O'Connor when it came to issues like abortion rights and gay rights.

The Religious Right, meanwhile, were furious that Kennedy, O'Connor and other justices appointed by Republican presidents weren't the hardline social conservatives they wanted to see on the Court.

But in 2024, the High Court — in its post-Kennedy, post-O'Connor era — is way to the right of where it was during the 1990s or 2000s. And Chief Justice John Roberts, appointed by former President George W. Bush, is often described as the most likely swing vote on the Court's 6-3 GOP supermajority.

Above the Law's Kathryn Rubino, however, stresses that Roberts is hardly the "moderate" he is often described as being.

"Chief Justice John Roberts has spent most of his time on the Supreme Court enjoying a reputation as a centrist," Rubino explains in an article published on September 17. "If mainstream Court watchers were honest with themselves, they'd know that Roberts' 'moderate' rep — based largely on his refusal to overturn Obamacare — was always hogwash…. Take the immunity case, Trump v. United States."

Rubino adds, "In February, before the case was before the Court, Roberts was already sharing how he thought the Court would rule."

Rubino references a recent article by New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Adam Liptak. According to their reporting, Roberts encouraged the controversial 6-3 immunity ruling in Trump v. the United States.

"Kantor and Liptak also reveal that the unsigned decision in Trump v. Anderson, which held Colorado cannot kick (former President Donald) Trump off their presidential ballot on account of the 14th Amendment's ban on insurrectionists holding office, was also written by none other than Roberts," Rubino notes. "None of these moves are the machinations of a centrist. They are the calculated plays of someone actively trying to push the nation's jurisprudence to the right — beyond what the majority of Americans support."

Rubino continues, "With Roberts clearly dethroned from his ostensible role as the 'very serious moderate' on the Court, it should supercharge the efforts to reform the institution. But even before this exposé, the hunt was already on for a 'new' swing vote on the Court that can be pandered to in order to stop the absolute worst SCOTUS power grabs."

Read Kathryn Rubino's full article for Above the Law at this link.

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