Scott Gerber on Chief Justice John Roberts

Wall St. Journal: Roberts Can Do Better Than Consensus, by Scott Gerber (Ohio Northern Univ. College of Law):

Now that John Roberts has completed his third term as chief justice, it's appropriate to take stock of how he's doing. Most press coverage has been favorable. But is he shaping up to be the next "great chief justice," à la John Marshall, Charles Evans Hughes and Earl Warren?

Justice Roberts committed himself early on to two major objectives: achieving more unanimity on the Supreme Court, and persuading Congress to raise judicial pay. Significantly, he publicly disclaimed any interest in moving the law in a favored direction. In a much-quoted line from his confirmation hearing, he told the Senate Judiciary Committee that judges are "umpires" whose job it is to "call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat."