John Roberts likes being political. He just doesn't like the accountability that comes with it.

[In It to Win It]

https://www.lawdork.com/p/john-roberts-likes-being-political

John Roberts has made it clear since his time as a young lawyer in the Reagan White House that he does not want to call balls and strikes.

He wanted to make policy then, and he failed in 1982 — at least as to whether violations of the Voting Rights Act could be shown by proving the effects of redistricting efforts and not just the purpose of the lawmakers behind the maps.

As chief justice of the United States, however, he oversaw the reversal of that congressional action signed into law by then-president Ronald Reagan — and, through two orders in the days since, told politicians that they are free to act quickly on it, cutting corners to do so if needed.

Following the second of those orders, Roberts complained to a group of lawyers and judges on Wednesday that “people think we’re making policy decisions, [that] we’re saying we think this is what things should be as opposed to this is what the law provides.“

As Lawrence Hurley reported for NBC News, Roberts continued: “I think they view us as truly political actors, which I don’t think is an accurate understanding of what we do. I would say that’s the main difficulty.“

NEW: John Roberts likes being political. He just doesn't like the accountability that comes with it.

Roberts complained Wednesday that people view the justices as "political actors." They are, though, issuing political decisions that have real-world consequences.

Today, at Law Dork:

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner.bsky.social) 2026-05-07T15:40:23.680Z