This is the first time in Roberts' 14 years as chief justice that he will likely be the deciding vote on several final, tense cases -- a total of 24 over the next two weeks. Roberts landed in the ideological center of the court last year when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired after a three-decade tenure. It is also likely that the 64-year-old chief justice, concerned about the place of the high court in these volatile times, will try to neutralize any appearance of politics. Some cases defy that goal, sometimes because of the chief justice's own interest. "There have been 17 chief justices, and I'd be very surprised if people in here could name" them, he said at Belmont University.

Source: CNN June 12, 2019 09:56 UTC