In the opinion of some, there is no more powerful government body than the United States Supreme Court. The reason for this opinion has to do with the issue of time. A President serves a four year term and no more than two in a row. In Congress, there is an election every 2 years for representatives and 6 for senators. While they can get re-elected over and over, it is no sure thing. With the Supreme Court, the Justices serve for life. This gives them a unique opportunity to greatly influence society over a significant amount of time. Since they are not elected to the position, they also have more freedom to rule as they wish without concern for their poll numbers.

With the appointment of John Roberts as Chief Justice, the Supreme Court has recently been transformed for the foreseeable future. As Chief Justice, Judge Roberts controls much of the court through procedures. He can define the amount of debate on subjects while also picking which Justice will write the majority opinion on certain cases. It may sound simplistic, but these procedural elements go along way in deciding cases and laying out the specific legal rulings in them. In the case of Chief Justice Roberts, he has the opportunity to really define the law of the land for the next 20 to 30 years since he is only 52 years old.

So, who is John Roberts? He was born on January 27, 1955 in Buffalo, New York. He is a Roman Catholic and attended private Catholic school while growing up in an upper middle class family. He attended Harvard for both his undergraduate education and law school, obtaining the top rank in his class. In his professional life, he has worked in positions ranging from a law clerk for former Chief Justice Rehnquist to acting as Associate Counsel for President Ronald Regan.

Oddly, Chief Justice Roberts does not have much "time in the chair." His first judicial position was on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2003. A scant two years later, he was nominated and confirmed to his current position. Now that is serious career advancement!

Philosophically, Chief Justice Roberts is considered to be a conservative. His decisions reveal him as a man that generally believes in government rights and a strict interpretation of the law. He appears, however, to also be a cautious man when it comes to changing the law. In practical terms, he seems to respect well established law and is more like to tweak it than seek a blanket change. In the case of Rowe v. Wade, the standard of most Supreme Court discussions, he seems unlike to support overturning it although he is probably interested in tweaking it.

The really interesting thing about Chief Justice Roberts is his age. He is so young, that we can expect to see him controlling and shaping the legal landscape for an extended time period. Let us hope he makes wise decisions!