John Roberts: the Chief Justice Who Broke American Democracy

John Roberts:  The Chief Justice Who Broke American Democracy

President George W. Bush announces Roberts’s nomination to be Chief Justice (2005) When John Roberts appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2005, he offered one of the most memorable metaphors in confirmation hearing history. “Judges are like umpires,” he told senators. “Umpires don’t make the rules; they apply them.” He promised to call balls and strikes, nothing more. Twenty years later, that promise stands as one of the most conseq…

John Roberts: the Chief Justice who broke American democracy

John Roberts promised impartiality when he became Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. Instead, over 20 years he has systematically ruled in favour of one party’s structural interests across voting rights, campaign finance, redistricting, executive power, and congressional oversight. Today, one in three Americans say they do not trust the Court to act in their interests.