Opinion: Public Perceptions At Play in Justice Roberts’ Vote

In a Sacramento Bee opinion piece, Ed Telfeyan -- a law professor at the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law -- writes that U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts' deciding vote to uphold the federal health reform law might reflect a "need to restore the public's perception of the integrity of the court." According to Telfeyan, the public's perception of the court has been "tarnished" by the belief that certain rulings have been made on "purely partisan grounds." Telfeyan writes, "And if, indeed, Roberts was motivated by that concern, then he crafted an opinion" in the reform law ruling that, "although judicially suspect, met his goals."

• "Roberts Ruled To Win in Court of Public Opinion" (Telfeyan, Sacramento Bee, 7/1).