Before John Roberts Jr. became chief justice, he was known as one of the most nimble oral advocates to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. To prepare for his cases, he would write hundreds of potential questions on index cards, and then shuffle them so he could be ready to answer them in any order.
On June 28, the final day of his sixth term as chief justice, Roberts showed he has carried that skill of shuffling the deck with him. In leading the majority ruling on the landmark Affordable Care Act cases, Roberts managed to stay true to his conservative roots while still, at the end of the day, crafting a majority that upheld the law that conservatives so roundly hate.
