Supreme Court Controversies
Has Chief Justice Roberts led an activist court?
By Kenneth Jost

The Supreme Court opens a new term on Oct. 1 with a major affirmative action case from the University of Texas set for argument the next week. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is starting his eighth year on a court that is divided on many issues between five generally conservative Republican appointees and four liberal Democratic appointees. Court watchers are still debating the implications of Roberts'. . . .

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• Has the Roberts Court based decisions on the justices' political views?
• Is the Roberts Court biased in favor of business interests?
• Has the Roberts Court engaged in judicial activism?

Should the Supreme Court prohibit racial preferences in university admissions?

Roger Clegg President and General Counsel, Center for Equal Opportunity. Written for CQ Researcher, September 2012	Shirley J. Wilcher Executive Director, American Association for Affirmative Action. Written for CQ Researcher, September 2012

Meet the Roberts Court

The Roberts Court consists of five justices appointed by Republican presidents and four by Democrats. Eight were federal appeals courts judges at the time of their appointments; Elena Kagan was solicitor general of the United States. All are graduates of Ivy League law schools. Here are brief biographies of the justices showing their dates and places of birth, education, Senate confirmation dates and votes and selected major opinions since September 2005.

(AFP/Getty Images/Paul J. Richards)

John G. Roberts Jr., chief justice: born Jan. 27, 1955, Buffalo, N.Y.; Harvard, Harvard Law School; appointed by President George W. Bush; confirmed Sept. 29, 2005 (78-22). Major opinions: Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District (school integration); Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett (campaign finance); National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (Affordable Care Act).

(AFP/Getty Images/Paul J. Richards)

Antonin Scalia, associate justice born March 11, 1936, Trenton, N.J.; Georgetown, Harvard Law School; appointed by President Ronald Reagan; confirmed Sept. 17, 1986 (98-0). Major opinions: Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes (class actions); Boumediene v. Bush (dissent, Guantánamo); District of Columbia v. Heller (gun rights); Arizona v. United States (dissent, immigration).

(AFP/Getty Images/Paul J. Richards)

Anthony McLeod Kennedy, associate justice: born July 23, 1936, Sacramento, Calif.; Stanford, Harvard Law School; appointed by President Ronald Reagan; confirmed Feb. 3, 1988 (97-0). Major opinions: Gonzales v. Carhart (abortion); Boumediene v. Bush (Guantánamo); Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (campaign finance); Arizona v. United States (immigration).

(AFP/Getty Images/Paul J. Richards)

Clarence Thomas, associate justice: born June 23, 1948, Pin Point, Ga.; Holy Cross, Yale Law School; appointed by President George H. W. Bush; confirmed Oct. 15, 1991 (52-48). Major opinions: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (dissent, Guantánamo); McDonald v. Chicago (concurrence, gun rights).

(Getty Images/Mark Wilson)

Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg, associate justice: born March 15, 1933, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Cornell, Columbia Law School; appointed by President Bill Clinton; confirmed Aug. 3, 1993 (96-3). Major opinions: Gonzales v. Carhart (dissent, abortion); Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (dissent, job discrimination); Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes (dissent, class actions).

(AFP/Getty Images/B. Smialowski)

Stephen Gerald Breyer, associate justice: born Aug. 15, 1938, San Francisco; Stanford, Magdalen College (Oxford), Harvard Law School; appointed by President Bill Clinton; confirmed July 29, 1994 (87-9). Major opinions: Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District (dissent, school integration); McDonald v. Chicago (dissent, gun rights).

(AFP/Getty Images/Paul J. Richards)

Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr., associate justice: born April 1, 1950, Trenton, N.J.; Princeton, Yale Law School; appointed by President George W. Bush; confirmed Jan. 31, 2006 (58-42). Major opinions: Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (job discrimination); McDonald v. Chicago (plurality, gun rights); Miller v. Alabama (dissent, criminal sentencing).

(Getty Images/Mark Wilson)

Sonia Maria Sotomayor, associate justice: born June 25, 1954, Bronx, N.Y.; Princeton, Yale Law School; appointed by President Barack Obama; confirmed Aug. 6, 2009 (68-31). Major opinion: Southern Union Co. v. United States (criminal fines).

(AFP/Getty Images/Tim Sloan)

Elena Kagan, associate justice: born April 28, 1960, New York, N.Y.; Princeton, Oxford, Harvard Law School; appointed by President Barack Obama; confirmed Aug. 5, 2010 (63-37). Major opinions: Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett (dissent, campaign finance); Miller v. Alabama (criminal sentencing).

— Kenneth Jost