Birthright Citizenship: The Majority Opinion

Birthright Citizenship: The Majority Opinion

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Chief Justice John Roberts poses for a group portrait at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., October 7, 2022.(Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

Given the stakes and the extensive body of scholarship on the citizenship clause, the 26-page majority opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts in Trump v. Barbara is surprisingly brisk. On the question of the constitutional scope of birthright citizenship, only Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined Roberts and the Court's three liberals.

Subjects of the King

Roberts began with English common law, under which birth within the king's dominions made one a subject owing duties of allegiance, but with exceptions for those born in "discrete areas within his kingdom that were temporarily outside his control. . . . And the same held true ...

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