(CNN) Chief Justice John Roberts, untethered from his usual position in the Supreme Court majority and dissenting alone on Monday, fired back with an arsenal of sarcasm , derision and his own alternative view of history. Thomas said that the English common law tradition, on which US law is based, allowed people to recover nominal damages to vindicate their legal rights. He added that a request for nominal damages would not guarantee a person's claim goes forward. The structure and function of 18th century English courts were in many respects irreconcilable with the role assigned to the judiciary in a tripartite allocation of power," Roberts wrote, referring to the US separation of powers. Roberts saw one possible way to minimize the effect of the majority view.

Source: CNN March 08, 2021 20:15 UTC