Abstract

While Chief Justice Roberts's votes do not hew closely to what either conservatives or progressives would have preferred, it is a mistake to assume the chief justice has been arbitrary or inconsistent. Rather, the October 2019 Term offered further confirmation that Chief Justice Roberts is a conservative minimalist. While his jurisprudential orientation remains quite conservative, he prefers narrow rulings over sweeping judgments. "If it's not necessary to decide more to dispose of a case, in my view it is necessary not to decide more," he explained in his confirmation hearings. At the same time, Chief Justice Roberts is reluctant to overturn Supreme Court precedent or declare federal laws to be unconstitutional. In cases in which such decisions are unavoidable, he still prefers to minimize change or disruption, through narrow rulings, surgical excision of constitutional infirmities, and restrained remedies that avoid disrupting settled expectations. Whatever its merits, this is the jurisprudence the chief justice has embraced in his time on the Court.

This abstract has been taken from the author's introductory paragraphs.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-2020

Publication Information

2020 University of Chicago Law Review Online 28-36

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