Roberts Pens First High Court Solo Dissent in Free Speech Case (1)

Chief Justice John Roberts racked up a first in his nearly 16 years on the Supreme Court bench: a solo dissent in an argued case.

The 66-year-old jurist is seen as a consensus builder on the conservative-leaning court, whose job lately has been to narrow high court rulings and make slow changes in the law.

But in a free speech case on Monday, Roberts parted ways with his colleagues, saying nominal damages alone—something like $1—couldn’t keep a suit alive in federal court. “If nominal damages can preserve a live controversy, then federal courts will be required to give advisory opinions ...