Count me among the many surprised people last week when the U.S. Supreme Court’s Chief Justice, John Roberts, proved his belief in judicial independence. Though nominated by a Republican president, he delivered votes in favor of Democratic positions in two major cases – striking down key components of Arizona’s oppressive immigration enforcement law and upholding President Obama’s health care reform act. With those two decisions in a single week, the Chief Justice demonstrated that judges can in fact set aside politics when ruling on ideologically-charged issues.