by emad » Mon Sep 05, 2005 11:54 am
Lawyer leapfrogs judges for top court job <br>Guardian<br>James Sturcke<br>Monday September 5, 2005 <br><br><br>George Bush today nominated lawyer John Roberts to succeed William Rehnquist as US chief justice.<br><br>Mr Roberts, a softly spoken conservative, had been the US president's nomination to replace the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the nine-member supreme court. But the death of Mr Rehnquist on Saturday presented Mr Bush with the opportunity to promote Mr Roberts directly to the top job.<br><br>"Those who work with John Roberts speak with admiration of his striking abilities as a lawyer and natural gifts as a leader," Mr Bush said at the White House. "He has earned the nation's confidence. I am pleased to announce him as my nomination for the 17th chief justice of the supreme court."<br><br>Mr Roberts' confirmation hearing had been due to start tomorrow for him to replace Ms O'Connor, who announced earlier this year that she would retire from the country's highest court. But rather than promoting one of the current judges of the court, such as Justices Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas, Mr Bush opted to transfer Mr Roberts' nomination to the top job.<br><br>Mr Bush said it was important "for the court and country" that the position was filled before the court reconvened in early October. He said he was "confident" the Senate would pass the nomination.<br><br>Mr Roberts said he was "honoured and humbled" by the confidence Mr Bush had shown in him.<br><br>It is the first time since 1971 that the court has had two vacancies at once. Rehnquist, 80, died at home in Arlington, Virginia, surrounded by his three children after a near year-long battle with thyroid cancer, a spokeswoman for the court said. His wife died of cancer in 1991.<br><br>He was diagnosed with the illness last October. He had a trachea tube inserted to help him breathe and underwent chemotherapy, but had continued to work until his health took a "precipitous decline" in the past few days, she said.<br><br>The president, who nominates the replacements to the court, probably the most powerful law court in the world, said he was "deeply saddened" by the death. He said Rehnquist, whose deeply conservative views helped to reshape the country's supreme court during the past three decades, had served with "tremendous wisdom and skill" and his passing was "a great loss to the court and for our country".<br><br>Rehnquist was appointed to the court by president Richard Nixon in 1971. The former justice department lawyer proved a counterweight to what had become an increasingly liberal judiciary. He was named chief justice by president Ronald Reagan in 1986.<br><br>Rehnquist, a grandson of Swedish immigrants, was initially called the "lone ranger" because of his ideological isolation on the court. But his elevation and a succession of conservative appointments eventually gave him a working majority that let him guide the court towards the right.<br><br>He dissented on some landmark decisions during his career on the bench. They included Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that women had a constitutional right to an abortion. He also objected to a 2003 ruling that struck down laws criminalising gay sex, and to a ruling that preserved affirmative action to favour black student admissions at public universities.<br><br>As the highest judge in the land, he presided over the impeachment trial of president Bill Clinton.<br><br>He played a pivotal role in the contentious 2000 presidential election, siding with the conservative majority in a bitterly divided court to stop ballot recounts in Florida and hand the White House to Mr Bush.<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1563174,00.html">www.guardian.co.uk/usa/st...74,00.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br> <p></p><i></i>
