• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Supreme Court enters the John Roberts era

Posted on: Monday, 3 October 2005, 13:03 CDT

By David Wiessler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At 10:35 a.m., new Chief Justice John Roberts opened the 2005-2006 Supreme Court session on Monday and launched the highest U.S. judicial body into the Roberts era, which could last for decades.

"On behalf of all the members of the court, it is a pleasure to extend to you a warm welcome," Justice John Paul Stevens told the conservative Roberts before the official opening in a brief ceremony attended by President George W. Bush.

Stevens wished Roberts "a long and happy career in our common calling" as the country's 17th chief justice. Roberts succeeds his mentor, William Rehnquist, who died a month ago after 33 years as the court's foremost conservative voice.

Roberts, at 50, is the youngest chief justice in more than two centuries. He takes over a court in which every other member has as least 11 years seniority and one, Stevens, has 30. In a lifetime post, Roberts could have a major impact on the legal system.

Roberts, who spoke of the need of judges to be modest before his confirmation, entered the courtroom with his eight fellow justices dressed in a plain black robe like them.

Gone were the four gold stripes Rehnquist added to each sleeve before presiding over the Senate impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in 1999 -- an adornment inspired by a costume in a Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera.

Roberts said he was happy to announce the opening of the session that will run until June, then immediately went into the first arguments of the term.

Historically, the court has made momentous decisions in all facets of American life, from national security and business, to powers of the president and the U.S. Congress, to social issues like abortion and civil rights.

The names of the famous cases resonate through American history -- Marbury v. Madison, Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, Nixon v. U.S.A., and the one that decided the 2000 presidential race, Bush v. Gore.

Roberts' first argument was the combined cases of IBP Inc. v. Alvarez and Tum v. Barber Foods over whether meat-processors must pay workers for the time involved in walking to areas and waiting for protective clothing they are required to don.

His first exchange in the session came on an arcane legal point. "So you appear really to introduce a third concept," he asked one of the lawyers.

In response the questioning, the lawyer responded by starting, "Well, what you are doing Mr. Chief Justice..." It was the first time during an argument that Roberts was called by his new title.

Roberts asked fewer than a dozen questions but was attentive throughout, looking directly at the justices and lawyers.

The ceremony was overshadowed by Bush's early morning announcement that he had selected White House counsel Harriet Miers to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate conservative who often casts the decisive vote on the closely divided court.

The White House said Bush called Roberts about 7 a.m. with the news.

O'Connor, who is staying on until a replacement is sworn in, participated in Monday's argument, asking about four questions. Unless the court issues an opinion before she leaves, she will have no role in any of the cases she hears.

While all nine members of the Supreme Court have an equal vote, it is often the chief justice whose leadership defines its direction. Thus major periods of the court are referred to by the chief justice's name, such as the Rehnquist Court or the Warren Court named for the liberal Chief Justice Earl Warren in the 1950s and 1960s.

(Additional reporting by James Vicini)

Source: REUTERS

More News in this Category