Hey there, it's the MPR Politics Podcast, I'm Susan Davis, I cover Congress.

And this is the Docket, our ongoing series where we break down the biggest legal stories

of the day.

And Nina the Supreme Court has just wrapped up its first term with its new conservative

63 Supermajority.

We've talked through all the major decisions in recent weeks on the podcast, but today

we wanted to look at the term as a whole.

And in particular, the role Chief Justice John Roberts has played in shaping the decisions

we saw this year.

So to start, can you just take a step back and tell me what you think about when you

look at the term as a whole?

Well, in order to understand this term, Sue, I think you have to go back to a year ago

when Chief Justice Roberts was riding high.

Not only was he the Chief Justice, but with the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy

in 2018, Roberts became the controlling vote and the shape of opinions in many of the

courts, most pivotal cases.

He was the deciding vote and wrote the court's opinion blocking the Trump administration

from manipulating the census, from ending the program that currently protects the so-called

dreamers from deportation, and he crafted the seven to two majority opinions rejecting

President Trump's claims of immunity from grand jury and congressional subpoenas.

But, but, now we're in 2021.

And there are five justices on the court now even more conservative than he is.

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