Biography
John Roberts has been Chief Justice of the United States since 2005.
Citizens United
He joined Justice Kennedy’s opinion for the Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, decided in the October Term 2009, and filed a separate concurrence joined by Justice Alito.
Two features of the decision matter for this site and are stated on the face of the opinion. The Court reversed in part and affirmed in part; and it affirmed the application of the disclaimer and disclosure requirements of §§201 and 311 to the film at issue. The decision that is usually summarized as removing limits on political spending also upheld the disclosure regime attached to it.
The case has shaped the funding structure of nearly every organization and campaign this site covers.
What Is Not Established Here
This page was previously a stub. His birth year and his 2005 appointment by President George W. Bush are retained from that version and are not corroborated by anything cited here. His other opinions — on voting rights, healthcare and executive power — are not described, because none was read in this pass. The slip opinion is the source for what this page states about Citizens United, including the part of it that is usually left out.
Sources
- 01.
Supreme Court of the United States. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), No. 08-205. (2010). The slip opinion, October Term 2009, retrieved from the FEC's hosted copy because supremecourt.gov returns 403 to automated clients. The lineup is stated on the syllabus: 'KENNEDY, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and SCALIA and ALITO, JJ., joined, in which THOMAS, J., joined as to all but Part IV, and in which STEVENS, GINSBURG, BREYER, and SOTOMAYOR, JJ., joined as to Part IV. ROBERTS, C. J., filed a concurring opinion, in which ALITO, J., joined.' The Court reversed in part, affirmed in part and remanded, and affirmed the application of the §§201 and 311 disclaimer and disclosure requirements.