John G. Roberts Jr.

Rule Changes

Joined the majority

Terry Pitchford has sat on Mississippi's death row for nearly two decades. On May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court threw out his conviction and ordered the state to start over, ruling 5-4 that the prosecutor's jury selection violated his constitutional rights.

Updated Yesterday

Rule Changes

Representing IAM National Pension Fund trustees

When employers exit multiemployer pension plans, they owe a share of unfunded benefits—a calculation that hinges on assumptions about future investment returns. The IAM National Pension Fund changed its interest rate assumption from 7.5% to 6.5% in January 2018, weeks after the measurement date, and applied it retroactively to employers who had already withdrawn. The result: withdrawal liabilities tripled from $935 million to over $3 billion.

Updated 7 days ago

Rule Changes

Presiding over Chevron v. Plaquemines Parish

A Louisiana jury ordered Chevron to pay $745 million in April 2025 for wrecking coastal wetlands through decades of oil drilling. Now the Supreme Court will decide if that verdict stands.

Updated May 20

Rule Changes

Authored 5-4 majority opinion upholding travel ban in Trump v. Hawaii

Trump signed his first travel ban seven days into his presidency, blocking entry from seven Muslim-majority countries and igniting protests; courts blocked it within a week. After Supreme Court victories, a Biden reversal, and his return to power, Trump's December 2025 expansion restricts entry from 39 countries—affecting one in eight people worldwide and eliminating exemptions for immediate family.

Updated May 16

Rule Changes

Previously granted an administrative stay; court later vacated it

Immigration judges say the Justice Department has effectively muzzled them: speak publicly about immigration and you need permission, and what you say can be steered into "agency talking points." The Trump administration's response has been procedural. You don't get federal court—go through the civil-service machinery first.

Updated May 15

Rule Changes

Presiding over and often shaping the Court’s incremental expansion of presidential removal power

In 2025, President Donald Trump challenged the 1935 Humphrey's Executor precedent by firing and removing independent agency officials before their terms expired.

Updated May 10

Rule Changes

Joined Alito majority in Callais despite having authored Allen v. Milligan in 2023 upholding Section 2

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on April 29, 2026, in Louisiana v. Callais that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965—the main federal tool minority voters have used for four decades to challenge racially discriminatory maps—now requires plaintiffs to prove intentional discrimination before courts can order a remedy. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion; Justice Elena Kagan dissented for the three liberal justices, writing that the ruling makes Section 2 'all but a dead letter' and marks 'the latest chapter in the majority's now-completed demolition of the Voting Rights Act.' On May 4, the Court ordered its judgment to take effect immediately, bypassing the usual 25-day window for rehearing requests; on May 6, it denied civil rights plaintiffs' motion to recall the ruling, making the decision final and operative.

Updated May 7

Rule Changes

Authored the majority opinion in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump

The U.S. government has never had to give back $166 billion it collected illegally — until now. On April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched the CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) portal for importers to reclaim tariff payments that the Supreme Court ruled the president had no authority to collect. The first phase covers $127 billion across more than 56,000 registered importers. But the launch was rocky: the system displayed 'high volume' errors within hours of going live, with some users encountering duplicate Tax ID errors and others spending hours on hold trying to resolve account access issues before they could even file a claim. Trade attorneys warned that technical glitches are not merely annoyances — delays can cause importers to lose refund rights permanently.

Updated Apr 21

Rule Changes

Authored majority opinion striking down IEEPA tariffs

For thirteen months, the Trump administration has been imposing tariffs on U.S. trading partners using emergency economic powers no president had ever claimed for that purpose. On February 20, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that those tariffs were illegal. Three weeks later, the administration launched Section 301 trade investigations into 16 economies—covering China, the European Union, Japan, India, Mexico, and eleven others—over allegations that their industrial policies create excess manufacturing capacity that undercuts American producers. The investigations span more than twenty sectors, from steel and semiconductors to batteries and robotics.

Updated Mar 12