Roberts sworn in as chief justice
John Roberts was sworn in as the 17th chief justice of the United States today after winning Senate confirmation on a vote of 78 to 22.
A 50-year-old U.S. appeals court judge, Roberts, who will lead a court that will be asked to address many contentious social issues, replaces William Rehnquist, who died earlier this month and for whom Roberts once clerked. All 55 of the Senate's majority Republicans and half of its Democrats voted for Roberts.
Underscoring the rarity of a chief justice's confirmation, senators answered the roll by standing one by one at their desks as their names were called, instead of voting and leaving the chamber.
"Chief Justice Roberts is someone that the American people will be proud of for many years to come," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said after the vote.
Roberts is the first new Supreme Court justice since 1994. Before becoming a federal judge, he was one of the nation's best appellate lawyers, arguing 39 cases–many in front of the same eight justices he will now lead as chief justice. He won 25 of those cases.
President Bush joined Roberts, former Sen. Fred Thompson, and White House staff in the Roosevelt Room to watch the vote. After the 50th vote was cast, McClellan said Roberts "nodded and expressed his appreciation in a very humble way. And the president shook his hand and congratulated him."
After lunch with the president, Roberts was being sworn in quickly so he could take his seat for the new court session Monday. All Supreme Court justices except Antonin Scalia were expected at the White House ceremony, along with Bush and several cabinet members and senators. Justice John Paul Stevens, the senior member of the court, swore in Roberts.
Under Roberts, justices will tackle issues like assisted suicide, campaign finance law, and abortion this year, with questions about religion, same-sex marriage, the government's war on terrorism, and human cloning looming in the future.
"With the confirmation of John Roberts, the Supreme Court will embark upon a new era in its history, the Roberts era," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican. "And for many years to come, long after many of us have left public service, the Roberts court will be deliberating on some of the most difficult and fundamental questions of U.S. law."
Twenty-two Democrats opposed Roberts, saying he could turn out to be as conservative asJustices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court anchors on the right.
"At the end of the day, I have too many unanswered questions about the nominee to justify confirming him to this lifetime seat," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
Antiabortion and abortion-rights activists both have their hopes pinned on Roberts, a former government lawyer in the Reagan and first Bush administrations. While Roberts is solidly conservative, both sides were eager to see how he will vote on abortion cases.
Roberts told senators during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings that past Supreme Court rulings carry weight, including the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973. He also said he agreed with the 1965 Supreme Court ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut that established the right to privacy in the sale and use of contraceptives.
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