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From the Book of Common Prayer, 1928.A Prayer for Recovery. O GOD of heavenly powers, who, by the might of thy command, drivest away from men’s bodies all sickness and all infirmity; Be present in thy goodness with this thy servant JOHN, that his weakness may be banished and his strength recalled; that his health being thereupon restored, he may bless thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A Prayer for Healing. O ALMIGHTY God, who art the giver of all health, and the aid of them that turn to thee for succour; We entreat thy strength and...

In a pointed dissent from decisions overturning death sentences for two Texas inmates, Roberts accused Stevens of engaging in revisionist history......... Roberts concluded his 16-page dissent on a sarcastic note, at odds with his amiable image. "Still, perhaps there is no reason to be unduly glum," Roberts said, taking direct aim at Stevens. "After all, today the author of a dissent issued in 1988 writes two majority opinions concluding that the views established in that dissent actually represented 'clearly established' federal law at that time. So there is hope yet for the views expressed in this dissent." "Encouraged by the...

The framers of the United States Constitution believed that people of African descent “had no rights which the white man was bound to respect,” and that “the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit…. [to be] bought and sold and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and traffic, whenever profit could be made by it.” With reference to the words “all men are created equal” in the Declaration of Independence: “It is too clear for dispute that the enslaved African race was not intended to be included, and formed no part of the people...

THE Supreme Court, having decided only four cases since the term began in October, has not exactly been living in the fast lane. But the pace is about to pick up. The coming months will be a testing time for the young Roberts court, including decisions due by early summer on abortion, school integration and environmental policy, with an unusually large emphasis on cases of significance to the business community.Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has spoken often of the virtues of a court that speaks modestly and unanimously. Those goals may well prove elusive. The court’s conservative bloc reached...

The chief justice of the California Supreme Court said the state's death penalty has become "dysfunctional" and blamed lawmakers for looking the other way as 650 condemned inmates idle on death row. Ronald George said in an interview with The Associated Press that the Legislature's inability to adequately fund capital punishment has led to a de facto moratorium on executions in California. "I think that there are many, many things in the eyes of legislators that have greater priority," said George, who marks his 10th anniversary as chief justice on Monday. "That's the problem. People want to have the death...

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts delivered a warm homage Wednesday to Ronald Reagan, describing the former president he worked for in the 1980s as an influence on his life as well as history. "He was a great communicator because he communicated great ideas," Roberts told a standing-room only audience at the Reagan Presidential Library. In a 30-minute speech laced with personal anecdotes from his days as a White House lawyer, Roberts credited Reagan for his vision, his optimism, his determination and his human touch. He quoted from a letter he wrote to Reagan two decades ago, as he was...

Twenty-seventh President of the United States and its tenth Chief Justice, William Howard Taft was the only man in the history of the country to become the head of both the Executive and Judicial Departments of the Federal Government. Elected to the Presidency to succeed Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 by a tremendous majority, both popular and electoral, he met overwhelming defeat four years later in the political catastrophe which wrecked temporarily the Republican Party, ruptured his long friendship with Roosevelt, who had brought about his first nomination for the Presidency, and resulted in the election of Woodrow Wilson. The worst...

<p>WASHINGTON -- The institutional vanity and intellectual slovenliness of America's campus-based intelligentsia have made academia more peripheral to civic life than at any time since the 19th century. On Monday, its place at the periphery was underscored as the Supreme Court unanimously gave short shrift to some law professors who insisted that their First Amendment rights to free speech and association were violated by the law requiring that military recruiters be allowed to speak to the professors' students if the professors' schools receive federal money.</p>

Ann Coulter...was definitely Friday’s biggest draw at CPAC 2006. From the get-go the conservative columnist had the crowd cheering and was frequently interrupted by applause. Many of Coulter’s talking points came from recent news events -- such as “the great Danish cartoon caper” and President Bush’s Supreme Court nominees. “Muslims are the only group who kill because people call them violent,” she said of Islam’s rage over the printing of Muhammad cartoons. Speaking about the nation's highest court, Coulter not only expressed elation at Justice Samuel Alito’s confirmation, she also shared her feelings on Chief Justice John Roberts ... She...

So, Mr. Chief Justice, will it be us or them? Given his first case, we'll know soon enough if new Chief Justice John Roberts is with us or them. It's a control case, a who's-in-charge case. Us or them. The people of Oregon -- me and you, 'cept they live there and we live here -- have twice affirmed through referenda that if a mentally-with-it dying person wants to skip the last part, it's OK for the doctor to prescribe and the pharmacist to fill a fatal prescription. The Oregon Legislature, being the servant of the people that it is,...

Ever since President George W. Bush nominated John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court, legal analysts have said that the 50-year-old jurist is an exceptional lawyer, and clearly he is. Only the most skilled of attorneys could so deftly say so little in such a great expanse of time. But don't fault Roberts for the evasions in his confirmation hearings. He's merely playing by the established rules of America's dysfunctional, overly politicized judicial confirmation process. It's a process for which Roe v. Wade bears much of the blame. On the question of that 1973 Supreme Court ruling, which came up...

<p>NEW YORK -- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Saturday that he had not expected President Bush to nominate him to replace the late William Rehnquist as chief justice. "I'm not even sure I wanted it, to tell you the truth," Scalia told reporters at a media briefing before a gala dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan Bush, who had in the past mentioned Scalia as one role model for an ideal chief justice, passed on Scalia and nominated John Roberts after Rehnquist's death. Scalia said the time he would have had to devote to administering the court as chief justice would have taken away from his thinking and writing.</p>

The President spent part of the weekend at Camp David but was back in Washington on Sunday morning to attend the 52nd Annual Red Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral. The Red Mass, a historical tradition within the Catholic Church, is held on the Sunday before the opening session of the Supreme Court. Today at just after 8.00am in the Oval Office the President President Nominated Harriet Miers as Supreme Court Justice Later the President met with Dr. Lawrence Gonzi, Prime Minister of Malta in the Oval Office John Roberts investiture as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States took...

Today, with the president who appointed him in attendance, the 17th chief justice of the United States will robe and take his high seat as the first among nine equals. John G. Roberts Jr. is expected to preserve the whimsical stripes on his robe introduced by his mentor, the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He will honor traditions new and old. But yesterday, he and President Bush, along with other justices, judges and dignitaries, participated in a tradition older still.

Today The Senete Confirmed The President's pick for Chief Justice of the United States Judge John Roberts. The Senate voted 78-22 to confirm Roberts. Later in the day he was sworn in by Justice Stevens in the East Room of the White House. John Roberts watched the vote with the President and had luncheon with the President at the White House prior to the swearing in ceromonies. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld attended a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill Yesterday Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke at a dinner of the Global Business Coalition on HIV-AIDS in...

Live from the White House at 3:00 P.M. EDT!

Final count 78 - Yeas, 22 - Nays http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9503382/

WASHINGTON - John Glover Roberts Jr. won confirmation as the 17th chief justice of the United States Thursday, overwhelmingly confirmed by the Senate to lead the Supreme Court through turbulent social issues for generations to come. The Senate voted 78-22 to confirm Roberts — a 50-year-old U.S. Appeals judge from the Washington suburb of Chevy Chase, Md. — as the successor to the late William H. Rehnquist, who died earlier this month. All of the Senate's majority Republicans, and about half of the Democrats, voted for Roberts. Underscoring the rarity of a chief justice's confirmation, senators answered the roll by...

Based on news releases from the websites of U.S. Senators and official statements in the press (found via news.google.com), Judge John Roberts will be confirmed as the next Chief Justice of the United States with the affirming vote of -- at minimum -- 55 U.S. Senators. No, these aren't the 55 GOP Senators, although no Republicans are on record in opposition to Roberts' nomination. The tally includes 43 Republicans who are on record with their intention to vote yes, and 12 Democrats who have broken ranks with party leadership to put their support behind Judge Roberts. Those Democrats who have...

A mock Supreme Court argument in a gay-rights case reminds us that liberals sometimes agree with the next chief justice WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- You won't see John Roberts among the head shots of Supreme Court justices posted at the William & Mary Law School, site of the 2005-06 Supreme Court Preview. Instead of Roberts' face in the space reserved for the chief justice there is a question mark, a reflection of Roberts-like caution on the part of the organizers of this annual conference on the new court term. After all, Roberts hasn't been confirmed yet. But if Roberts is missing...

From Wikipedia: John Marshall (September 24, 1755 – July 6, 1835), Chief Justice of the United States and principal founder of American constitutional law and the Supreme Court of the United States' power of judicial review.Legacy Marshall wrote several important Supreme Court opinions, including: Marbury v. Madison (1803) Fletcher v. Peck (1816) McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) Cohens v. Virginia (1821) Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

<p>A nation's identity consists of braided memories, which are nourished by diligence at civic commemorations. It is, therefore, disappointing that at this moment of keen interest in the Supreme Court and the office of chief justice, scant attention has been paid to the 250th anniversary of the birth of the nation's greatest jurist, Chief Justice John Marshall. The oldest of the family's 15 children, he was born Sept. 24, 1755, into Virginia rusticity where women pinned their blouses with thorns. Yet he developed the most urbane and subtle mind of that era of remarkable statecraft. He was a member of Virginia's ratifying convention, and in nearly 35 years as chief justice he founded American constitutional law. That kind of legal reasoning by Supreme Court justices is a continuous exegesis of the Constitution and is sometimes not easily distinguished from a continuing writing of the document.</p>

The government can decide what artwork is worthwhile without being accused of censorship as long as it is funding that art, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told an audience Thursday at the Juilliard School. "The First Amendment has not repealed the ancient rule of life, that he who pays the piper calls the tune," Scalia said. The justice, who limited his discussion to art issues, said he wasn't suggesting that government stop funding the arts, but that if it does fund artwork, it is entitled to have a say in the content, just like when it runs a school system....

If President Bush wants to make a "diversity" pick for a Supreme Court nomination, must he swim shallow or deep in the pool of conservative minority and female possibilities? Conventional wisdom last week suggested that Bush, after tapping Judge John Roberts, a white male, for the position of chief justice, was unlikely to name another white male for the remaining high court vacancy, the seat currently held by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female justice. Of course, conventional wisdom immediately after O'Connor announced her impending retirement held that Bush would maintain or increase diversity on the high court in...

No surprise here, Hillary Clinton released a statement confirming that she will vote no on John Roberts for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. What I find interesting is her reasoning behind her no vote. According to a statement released by Hill, "I have an obligation to my constituents to make sure that I cast my vote for Chief Justice of the United States for someone I am convinced will be steadfast in protecting fundamental women's rights, civil rights, privacy rights, and who will respect the appropriate separation of powers among the three branches. After the Judiciary Hearings, I believe...

...Schumer argued yesterday "being brilliant and accomplished" didn't make Roberts qualified. Why? Because "there are many who would use their considerable talents and legal acumen to set America back. So, while legal brilliance is to be considered, it is never dispositive.... Roberts is clearly brilliant and his demeanor suggests he well might not be an ideologue. But he did not make the case strongly enough to bet the whole house." This is what a bad argument looks like — pressing an ideological assault against someone by claiming that person could be an "ideologue." The refusal of Schumer and four other...

I am watching a Cspan 3 of the vote. Hard to read the screen but it looks like a 12 to 5 vote for Roberts to be Chief Justice.

Posted at 09:56 AM ET, 09/22/2005 Sen. Feinstein votes no. Vote Yes: Specter (R) No: Feinstein (D) Sen. Feinstein cast her vote no, saying she did not like Roberts answers to her questions and those of other senators, and particularly as "the only woman on the committee," remains unvconvinced that he will act as Chief Justice to uphold basic rights of all Americans. The committee has taken a break for a floor vote.

When President George W. Bush and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee describe John Roberts Jr. as the nominee to be the 17th chief justice of the United States, Ross Davies just chuckles. That isn't a comment on Roberts or his qualifications. What amuses Davies, a law professor at George Mason University, is the number everyone uses. Davies is quite sure that Roberts, if confirmed, will be the 18th chief justice, not the 17th. In a 76-page law review article, set to be published next spring, Davies makes a forceful argument that William Cushing, a mostly forgotten associate justice appointed...

JOHN G. ROBERTS JR. should be confirmed as chief justice of the United States. He is overwhelmingly well-qualified, possesses an unusually keen legal mind and practices a collegiality of the type an effective chief justice must have. He shows every sign of commitment to restraint and impartiality. Nominees of comparable quality have, after rigorous hearings, been confirmed nearly unanimously. We hope Judge Roberts will similarly be approved by a large bipartisan vote.

JOHN G. ROBERTS JR. should be confirmed as chief justice of the United States. He is overwhelmingly well-qualified, possesses an unusually keen legal mind and practices a collegiality of the type an effective chief justice must have. He shows every sign of commitment to restraint and impartiality. Nominees of comparable quality have, after rigorous hearings, been confirmed nearly unanimously. We hope Judge Roberts will similarly be approved by a large bipartisan vote.

ON THE FINAL DAY OF the Roberts hearings, Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois tried one last time: "If you've made one point many times over . . . the course of the last three days," he told the judge, "it is that as a judge you will be loyal and faithful to the process of law, to the rule of law." But "beyond loyalty to the process of law," he asked Roberts, "how do you view [the] law when it comes to expanding our personal freedom? . . . That's what I've been asking." And so, in various ways,...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday opposed John Roberts' nomination to be U.S. Supreme Court chief justice, making him the first noted Republican to break with the Bush administration over who should lead America's top court. Bloomberg, a former Democrat seeking re-election in a heavily Democratic city, said Roberts had failed to show a commitment to upholding the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision establishing a right to abortion. "I am unconvinced that Judge Roberts accepts the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling as settled law," Bloomberg said. Roberts' answers to questions in Senate confirmation...

Roberts: Day Four Set to Begin On Thursday, the members of the Senate Judiciary Cmte. continue with a third round of questioning. Then six different panels of out- side witnesses deliver their views on the professional and personal suitability of John Roberts to be appointed Chief Justice of the United States. This testimony will take the entire day. LIVE LINKSC-span3 (realplayer)C-span3 (win)Judiciary Committee web feed Nomination of John G. Roberts [LIVE thread 9-12] Nomination of John G. Roberts [LIVE Thread 9-13]~Day TwoNomination of John G. Roberts [LIVE Thread 9-14]~Day Three

Who said this? “We have to respect that any nominee to the Supreme Court would have to defer any comments on any matters which are either before the court or very likely to appear before the court.” Though it sounds a lot like what Senator Orrin Hatch said in his opening comments in the Judge John Roberts confirmation hearings yesterday, it is actually a statement by Senator Ted Kennedy.  Of course, he didn’t say it yesterday regarding a judicial nominee that threatens to actually uphold the Constitution as it was written.  He said it in 1967 to Thurgood Marshall. Teddy’s comments for...

Day Two of Roberts Q&A On Wednesday, the members of the Senate Judiciary Cmte. finish their first round of questions, beginning with Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS). A second round for Chief Justice nominee John Roberts will follow, with each senator getting twenty minutes as opposed to the thirty minutes in the first round. LIVE LINKSC-span3 (realplayer)C-span3 (win)Judiciary Committee web feed

IN THE Federalist, James Madison observed that judges are "shoots from the executive stock." With this phrase, Madison was making a point about where, in a government of separated powers, judges come from; and of course, the answer is the executive, since the Constitution plainly sets forth that it is the president who has the authority to select judges.True, the Senate must approve a president's nominees, or else none can have life tenure. But the constitutional structure is such that no one can become a judge unless the president chooses the person. Judges are shoots from the executive stock only,...

CNN's Jeff Greenfield: "I Can Understand Why John Roberts Earned A Fine Living Arguing In Front Of The Supreme Court. He Is A Very Skilled Litigator And Presenter." (CNN's "Situation Room," 9/13/05 )The New York Times David Brooks: "I Think, First Of All, It Was A Good Morning Because There Is Nothing That Changed The Likely Prospects That He Will Be Confirmed." (PBS' "John Roberts Confirmation Hearings," 9/13/05 )Fox News' Megyn Kendall: "He Did Well This Morning ..." (Fox News' "Fox News Live," 9/13/05 ) Kendall On Sen. Joe Biden's (D-DE) Questioning: "KENDALL: He's ... Being Cross-Examined On Positions That...

Q&A with Roberts to Start On Tuesday, the eighteen members of the Senate Judiciary Cmte. begin questioning Chief Justice nominee John Roberts. This will take all day, with the senators asking their questions, up to a half-hour for each member, in order of seniority, alternating by party. The Schedule (media advisory) Tentative Schedule for the Hearing: Schedule is subject to change Tuesday, Sept. 13 9:30 am Chairman Specter begins 30 minute round of questioning (Round 1) 1:00 pm Break for lunch 2:00 pm Resume questioning 6:00 pm Break for dinner 7:00 pm Resume questioning 8:30 pm Round 1 questioning ends...

The President made no public appearances on Saturday but on Sunday he and the Vice President and their wives participated in a moment of silence in remembrance to the fourth anniversary of 9/11 on the lawn of the White House As usual the President and the First Lady attended church and later in the day he travelled to the Gulf Region for an overnight trip to the disaster area The Vice President on Saturday visited Texas Houston to see for himself the great work that the Texans are doing in caring and putting together the lives of those made homeless...

Washington -- When John Roberts takes his seat today in a historic Senate hearing room, it will be to win confirmation as the 17th chief justice of the United States -- to replace his former mentor who died nine days ago -- rather than as a junior associate justice to fill the seat of retiring centrist Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The Democrats the 50-year-old nominee faces on the Senate Judiciary Committee will be freshly energized, not just to grill him, but to bend the White House to their will on a second Supreme Court vacancy now newly open. And the...

Roberts Hearings Set to Start On Monday, the multi-day Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge John Roberts begin. They are expected to last all week. First, will be a series of opening statements by the eighteen members of the Senate Judiciary Cmte. These should take up most of the afternoon. Witness List Hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on The Nomination of John G. Roberts to be Chief Justice of the United States Monday, September 12, 2005 Russell Senate Office BuildingRoom 325 12:00 p.m. PANEL I The Honorable Richard G. Lugar United States Senator [R-IN] The Honorable John Warner United...

When George W. Bush visited the Supreme Court Sept. 6 to pay last respects to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, he was escorted into the Court's Great Hall by the man many conservatives believed would replace Rehnquist, propelled to the top job by sheer force of will and intellect: Justice Antonin Scalia. Both men kept their thoughts to themselves, but the appearance was poignant. Just a day earlier, the President surprised Washington and many of his conservative allies by tapping Judge John G. Roberts Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to serve as Chief...

WASHINGTON - For more than two decades, John Roberts spoke for his clients: President Ronald Reagan and his Justice Department, the first Bush administration, and scores of individuals and corporations he represented in private practice. Now he must speak for himself, as a nominee for chief justice before the Senate Judiciary Committee. His paper trail precedes him. From his earliest Justice Department missives as a young aide out of Harvard Law School, through his latest opinions as a seasoned federal appellate court judge, Roberts has given senators plenty to work with. More than 60,000 pages of documents have been released...

WASHINGTON - John Roberts knows just how to handle his upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearing. After all, he wrote the book on the subject. Or at least, the memo. "The approach," a young John Roberts explained on Sept. 17, 1981, "(is) to avoid giving specific responses to any direct questions on legal issues likely to come before the court, but demonstrating in the response a firm command of the subject area and awareness of the relevant precedents and arguments." At the time, Roberts was a 26-year-old special assistant to Ronald Reagan's attorney general. Himself fresh out of Harvard Law School,...

Senate Democrats say the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist has eased the pressure on them to oppose the Supreme Court nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. but has set the stage for a more contentious battle over the other vacancy on the court. "When you are thinking about the balance of the court, you say, 'O.K., Judge Roberts is replacing Justice Rehnquist,' " said Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut. " 'Consider him on his merits, but it doesn't alter the balance of the court.' " Democratic senators and strategists say they are weighing whether to...

American Conservative Union The Oval Office THE PRESIDENT: "Morning. This summer I announced the nomination of Judge John Roberts to be associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. I choose Judge Roberts from among the most distinguished jurists and attorneys in the country because he possesses the intellect, experience and temperament to be an outstanding member of our nation's Highest Court. For the past two months, members of the United States Senate and the American people have learned about the career and character of Judge Roberts. They like what they see. He's a gentleman. He's a man...

....Court watchers have made a science of counting votes on key issues like campaign finance reform, access to abortion, and affirmative action. On these questions, Rehnquist was often a reliable conservative, siding with the minority of the court. O'Connor, on the other hand, was a swing vote who helped write majority decisions, a fact that makes her replacement far more important to the future direction of the Supreme Court. "The Democrats want to look at the two picks together," said Chemerinsky. President Bush may not give them the chance...."Before the Senate acts on John Roberts' new nomination ... we should...