Justice Roberts on Gay-Marriage

It's likely that both the Defense of Marriage Act and the overturn of California's Proposition 8 will be placed before the Supreme Court this coming term. An article in The New Yorker supposes that with Justice Roberts long career ahead on the Supreme Court, he will not want to be seen as leading "a court of right-wing judicial activists" and consequently vote with the liberal leaning justices in favor of gay marriage. Richard Socarides examines Justice Robert’s potential vote:

“Fundamentally, we see that Roberts thinks of himself not just as another Justice of the Court but as its Chief Justice and, as such, as the primary keeper of its legacy. He is fifty-seven, and could serve on the Court for another twenty years or more. In the context of public opinion on gay rights and same-sex marriage, twenty years is a very long time.”