John Roberts

John Glover Roberts, Jr. (Buffalo, New York; January 27, 1955) is the current chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, named after George W. Bush. Before joining the Supreme Court on September 29, 2005, Roberts was a judge on the Court of Appeals for the Columbia Circuit. Prior to that, he was a private attorney and held positions in the United States Department of Justice and the Office of White House Counsel under the Republican administration.

His early years

He was born in Buffalo (New York, USA), on January 27, 1955, son of John G. Roberts and Rosemary Podrasky. His father was an executive at Bethlehem Steel. When Roberts was in second grade, his family moved to the city of Long Beach, Indiana. He was raised in a Catholic home along with his three sisters: Kathy, Peggy, and Barbara.

Roberts studied at 'La Lumiere School', a Catholic boarding school in LaPorte, Indiana where he stood out as a student and athlete. He studied six years of Latin as well as French, and was known for his devotion to his studies. He was also captain of his football team, and was a regional wrestling champion. He participated in the choir and plays, was co-editor of the school newspaper, and was a member of his school's athletic council as well as the Student Executive Committee.

Studies

Roberts graduated first in his high school class with the title "National Merit Scholar" (Merit to the National Student). Roberts then entered Harvard College to study history to become a professor. Roberts spent his summers working in a steel factory to help pay for his studies. While a student at Harvard, he received the William Scott Ferguson award for his essay titled Marxism and Bolshevism: Theory and Practice.. He graduated from History with the honor summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1976. After that, Roberts entered Harvard Law School, where he participated in the editorial of the Harvard Law Review and graduated i> magna cum laude in 1979.

Roberts is currently a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, the American Law Institute, the Edward Coke Appellate American Inn of Court, and the National Legal Center for the Public Interest. He serves on the Federal Appellate Rules Advisory Committee.

Roberts is married to Jane Sullivan Roberts, an attorney, former legal counsel at Feminists for Life, and currently a partner at the firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. They live in Washington, D.C., in the suburbs of Chevy Chase, Maryland, in an uptown neighborhood. John Roberts is a practicing Catholic. His family goes to Church of the Little Flower. Parish attended by various officials from all three branches of government and other parts of the political spectrum. The Roberts family adopted two children in 2000: Josephine ("Josie") and Jack Roberts. Jack danced during the introduction of his father by President Bush in the White House, achieving high attention in the media, the president described him as "a friend who is comfortable in front of the cameras."; In a speech at the University of Miami, Roberts said: "People think Jack was dancing - he wasn't dancing, he was Spider-Man, shooting the web out of him."

Private practice

Upon graduating from law school, Roberts worked as a "law clerk" (law clerk) for Judge Henry Friendly on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals for one year. Between 1980 and 1981, she clerked for then-Supreme Court Associate Justice William Rehnquist. Between 1981 and 1982, she worked in the Reagan administration as Special Assistant to United States Attorney General William French Smith. Between 1982 and 1986, Roberts worked as an associate to White House Counsel Fred Fielding.

United States Court of Appeals

George W. Bush nominated Roberts to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on May 9, 2001, but the nomination — along with 29 others — failed to gain the necessary ratification from the Senate Judiciary Committee, controlled at that time by the Democrats. He was nominated again on January 7, 2003, to replace James L. Buckley. His nomination was approved by the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 16 to 3, with Senators Richard Durbin, Charles Schumer and Ted Kennedy opposed. However, he was approved by the Senate under unanimous consent and was admitted on June 2, 2003.

Personal finances

According to a 16-page Roberts financial document submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee before confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice, his personal fortune was more than $6 million, including $1.6 million in actions. Roberts left private practice to join the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2003, bringing his salary from $1 million a year down to $171,800; As Chief Justice his salary is $199,200 (half of what the President of the United States earns, $400,000, and more than what the leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate earn annually, $181,500).. The Roberts family home was appraised at $891,000, according to the property appraiser of Montgomery County, Maryland. Roberts also owns a one-eighth interest in a Cotton Mill, in his wife's village in County Limerick, Ireland, his wife's ancestral land, valued at $15,000 or less.

President Judge

On July 19, 2005, Roberts was nominated by George W. Bush to fill the vacant seat on the United States Supreme Court left by the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. On September 5, Bush announced Roberts' nomination for Chief Justice following the September 3 death of William H. Rehnquist. On September 6, Bush sent the United States Senate notice of Roberts' nomination and withdrawal of his previous nomination.

On September 29, 2005, Roberts was confirmed by the Senate with a final vote of 78-22. That same day, he took over the position. Roberts is expected to be a conservative court justice but more moderate than Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

In June 2012 he had an intervention that was considered decisive: with his vote, by 5 to 4, the Supreme Court ratified the constitutionality of the health law popularly known as "Obamacare".

Trivia

• In an interview with ABC News, Roberts admitted that he still writes all his opinions on hand and does not have an iPod.

Notes