John Roberts

Biography

John Roberts was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1955 and grew up in Indiana. He studied history at Harvard College and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1979, where he was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. He then clerked for Judge Henry Friendly and for Justice William Rehnquist.

He worked in the Reagan administration's Justice Department and in the White House Counsel's office, then joined the firm Hogan & Hartson. From 1989 to 1993 he was principal deputy solicitor general, arguing many cases before the Supreme Court, and he later returned to Hogan & Hartson as one of the country's leading appellate advocates. A 1992 nomination to the D.C. Circuit lapsed, but he was appointed to that court in 2003.

In 2005 President George W. Bush nominated him to the Supreme Court, first to succeed Sandra Day O'Connor and then, after Rehnquist's death, as chief justice; the Senate confirmed him 78-22. He has written major opinions such as NFIB v. Sebelius, which upheld most of the Affordable Care Act, and Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down part of the Voting Rights Act. Seen as an institutionalist with a moderate conservative outlook, he has presided over a court that has moved to the right.