WASHINGTON ¨C Pivotal votes cast by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts in abortion and death penalty cases have underscored his new standing as the Supreme Court¡¯s ideological center and the outsize role he may play in major rulings for years to come.
Roberts, a genial 64-year-old conservative appointed in 2005 by Republican President George W. Bush, sided with the nine-member court¡¯s four liberals on Thursday night in blocking a restrictive Louisiana abortion law from taking effect. He also sided on Thursday night with the four other conservative justices in allowing the execution of a Muslim convicted murderer in Alabama.
His vote in the abortion case was particularly noteworthy because it represented a turnaround from his vote in a 2016 abortion case in which he had joined two other conservatives in dissent when the Supreme Court ruled 5-3 to strike down similar regulations targeting abortion doctors in Texas.
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