Invoice Otis
Chief Justice John Roberts is the preferred of 11 nationwide leaders the Gallup poll asked about, with a 60% approval score. (In contrast, on the backside of the heap had been 5 politicians, every with a score beneath 45%. So as: VP Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell).
Why is that germane to a felony legislation weblog? As a result of Roberts, regardless of occasional loud complaints by conservatives and reward by liberals, has been a fairly dependable vote in favor of legislation enforcement and the dying penalty particularly.
Roberts was the writer of the plurality opinion in Baze v. Rees, the 2008 case that rejected a problem to deadly injection, by far essentially the most steadily used technique of execution. He was the deciding vote in favor of capital punishment within the follow-up technique of execution case, Glossip v. Gross (determined 5-4 in 2015). In February 2019, Roberts was a part of the bulk in a 5–4 choice rejecting a Muslim inmate’s request to delay execution as a way to have an imam current with him (a problem nonetheless percolating on the Court docket).
Roberts has not been uniform in his voting sample, and wouldn’t be mistaken for, e.g., Justice Thomas or Justice Alito. However by-and-large, he has been excellent news for legislation and order, and for conservatives extra typically. The Left sometimes likes to undertake him for his decisive vote upholding Obamacare within the Sebelius case, and was completely happy to hail him because the “swing” vote, no less than earlier than Justice Kavanaugh changed Justice Kennedy and Justice Barrett changed Justice Ginsburg.
However his precise file isn’t one liberals get pleasure from, as they’re completely happy to recollect when engaged of their present grousing in regards to the Court docket, and particularly the transfer, gaining subscription in some quarters, to pack it. Particularly, Roberts was the decisive vote in a very powerful Second Modification case (Heller), and the principle marketing campaign finance case (Residents United), each of which have offered limitless heartburn to the Left. He additionally dissented in Obergefell, disagreeing with the Court docket’s slender majority that same-sex couple have a constitutional proper to marry — a dissent that took appreciable intestinal fortitude contained in the Beltway. Though little remembered now, he declined to preside over the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, who was impeached whereas nonetheless President, however whose time period had expired by the point of the Senate continuing.
When a conservative, largely law-and-order Justice ranks as the preferred nationwide chief, swamping a (now) anti-death penalty President, celebrations by the Left that they’ve taken over the nation’s path could also be a mite untimely.