Note: Constitutional Accountability Center’s President Elizabeth Wydra is featured at the 9:07 mark.

From the moment he was confirmed, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has been a reliable conservative on the Supreme Court. So why did he just side with the court’s more liberal members to preserve abortion rights in Louisiana?

On today’s episode:

• Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times.

Background reading:

• The justices’ 5-to-4 decision to block a Louisiana law that could have severely restricted abortion in the state did not end the case, which could return to the court next term.

• Chief Justice Roberts’s choice to join the court’s four-member liberal wing may signal an effort to guard the court’s legitimacy by making modest and deliberate moves.

• Anti-abortion activists nationwide are pursuing their best chance in years to curb abortion access with a bench they see as being in their favor.