The Worst Decisions of the Roberts Court.

• Position: John Roberts

Since the appointment of John Roberts as Chief Justice in 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken a sharp shift to the right, as shown by these and other cases:

Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007): Setting the stage for later attacks on affirmative action, the court held for the first time that local school officials cannot constitutionally consider the race of their students when implementing plans to maintain racial balance.

Gonzales v. Carhart (2007): The court snipped away at abortion rights, the court upholds the controversial Bush-era Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.

Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (2008): Paving the way for other voter suppression techniques, the court upheld an Indiana law requiring all in-person voters to present a photo ID issued by either the state or the federal government.

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008): The court declared for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010): Overturning a century of campaign finance law and sparking the growth of super PACs, the court held that corporations, unions, and other groups could spend unlimited money on elections.

Arizona Free Enterprise Club's Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett (2011): In a Citizens United sequel, the court struck down an Arizona statute that provided matching funds to candidates who accept public financing.

Shelby County v. Holder (2013): The court gutted the "preclearance provisions" of the Voting Rights Act, which required advance federal approval of changes to election procedures in jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination.

Clapper v. Amnesty International USA (2013): The court held that U.S. human rights activists had no standing to challenge government surveillance of their communications with persons located abroad.

McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (2014): In yet another follow-up to Citizens United, the court invalidated limits placed on the aggregate amount of money individuals can donate directly to political candidates during any two-year election cycle.

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores (2014): The court exempted...