The Roberts Court

The Roberts court—seven years old, with a 5–4 conservative–liberal split—sits at the center of a constitutional maelstrom. Marcia Coyle, an expert on the Supreme Court, reports on its direction under Chief Justice Roberts as she traces the paths and resolutions of five landmark decisions on race, guns, immigration, campaign finance, and health care. Coyle recounts how a smart group of conservative lawyers has crafted cases with an eye toward an increasingly...
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The Roberts court—seven years old, with a 5–4 conservative–liberal split—sits at the center of a constitutional maelstrom. Marcia Coyle, an expert on the Supreme Court, reports on its direction under Chief Justice Roberts as she traces the paths and resolutions of five landmark decisions on race, guns, immigration, campaign finance, and health care. Coyle recounts how a smart group of conservative lawyers has crafted cases with an eye toward an increasingly receptive conservative majority. She describes the long paths these cases take to reach the court and how their resolutions expose the political divisions among the justices.