Posted on 11/21/2004 11:14:39 AM PST by kattracks
WASHINGTON (AP) - Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's health is shrouded in mystery, the extent of his thyroid cancer a closely guarded secret. Several coming events could give the public an idea about the seriousness of his condition.Since announcing his illness in a statement on Oct. 25, the 80-year-old Rehnquist has run the nation's highest court from his home in suburban Virginia.
He rules on cases by reviewing transcripts of arguments and passing along his votes to justices. Opinions are largely researched and drafted by law clerks. Administrative tasks fall to a top aide.
The only update on his condition came in a short statement from the court three weeks ago. It said he was receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatments, which some doctors familiar with thyroid cancer said suggests Rehnquist has a fast-growing cancer.
Speculation about whether he will step down and give the court its first opening since 1994 has swirled since disclosure of the illness. Three events could offer telling signs of Rehnquist's future after nearly 33 years on the high court, the last 18 as chief justice.
_The return of the court, which next hears arguments on Nov. 29.
_The annual court Christmas party on Dec. 17, an event Rehnquist relishes.
_President Bush's inauguration on Jan. 20. The chief justice normally swears in the president. Bush could choose another justice or other government official.
The court can function indefinitely without a chief justice; the only constitutionally required duty is to preside over a presidential impeachment trial. But the pressure on Rehnquist to disclose his plans will become too great for him to remain silent, predicted David J. Garrow, a law professor at Emory University and Supreme Court historian.
"I don't think things will stay in abeyance beyond January," he said.
The Supreme Court has operated with minimal disruption up to now. The next several weeks, however, will be critical as the ailing chief justice who prides himself on keeping the trains on time ponders whether he can keep up, said Pepperdine University law professor Douglas Kmiec.
Rehnquist has missed every argument since mid-October, so if he is not on the bench when the court returns in a week, it will not be terribly noticeable.
More significant may be the Christmas party for court staff that Rehnquist hosts each year. He makes meticulous plans, from the smallest of tree trimmings to leading a round of Christmas carols that he insists all attendees join.
But the most significant - and most public - absence would be if Rehnquist is unable to swear in Bush. By then, Rehnquist should have completed most of his treatment and will have had time to fully assess his health and whether he is able to continue on the court.
If he does not appear, it would be only the ninth time the chief justice did not administer the oath. The last time was Nov. 22, 1963, when a U.S. district judge swore in Lyndon Johnson on Air Force One after President Kennedy's assassination.
"The inauguration is an enormously important ceremonial statement for the nation and world," said Kmiec, a former legal counsel to President Reagan and the first President Bush. "To not have him present at that moment would convey the significance of his absence."
If Rehnquist delays a decision on his future past January, it would make it very difficult for a Bush nominee to win confirmation in time to sit for arguments, which end in April.
If Rehnquist becomes unable to cast votes, it could severely effect the court. Tie decisions would uphold the lower court's ruling. Those decisions, however, would only be binding within that lower court's jurisdiction.
Several court watchers and former clerks say that Rehnquist is not one to stick it out any longer than he feels able. They noted that he was a witness to Justice William O. Douglas' steady decline after a stroke in December 1974.
Douglas' refusal to step down despite obvious mental confusion led Rehnquist and the other justices to secretly stop counting his vote in some cases. Douglas eventually stepped aside in 1975.
"If and when he concludes he cannot come back, the chief justice will send his letter to the president immediately," Garrow said.
I bet he has already written his letter of resignation, and will submit it to the President after the inauguration. I'm sure W already knows whom he will elevate to Chief Justice and whom he will nominate as a new Associate Justice. There is no point in Rehnquist telling the press ahead of time what he is going to do.
We'll know he's in trouble if Suha Arafat shows up at his hospital room...
I know Aides do most of the reading/evaluating for all
politicians. Only the serious votes get the keen attention
of the Honcho. (That's how those Senators got so screwed
up on the Appropriations Bill last night...the Honchos let
the Underling Trainees do the headwork)
If the Chief Justice is that far gone that he can't be at
the sessions in person, I say it's time he relinquished the
office and resigned. Same goes for that addilpated Senator,
mentally residing in the past..."Sheets" Byrd. He spends most of his "allotted time" talking about the good old days
when HE was in charge and when he was capable of retaining a valid thought!
Does anyone else have a problem with this? Who was appointed to the position? The judge or the staff?
And before anyone lectures me on how it's the same way with our legislators, spare me - I know that and am frustrated with that as well.
But legislators have far more "stuff" cross their desk than the chief justice.
"Does anyone else have a problem with this? Who was appointed to the position? The judge or the staff?"
Well, the Lord Chief Justice (and lesser luminaries, too) would in all probability request the clerks to do the research, read it, form an opinion and hand it down to them to flesh out and write down. He most probably would proofread their scribblings, too, before signing his name to it. Thus the opinion would be HIS, after all.
I would like to know the source of Ms. Hope Yen's claim that Rehnquist "insists that all attendees join." The media has for several years viewed the singing of carols at the Court's party as a SERIOUS violation of church and state. Blah, blah, blah . . . I have difficulty imagining the Chief Justice walking over to non-singers and hitting them with a rolled up copy of the Constitution.
Why do I suspect that Ms. Yen is simply another ultra-lefty "reporter" giving vent to her own leftist agenda and exagerrating a story to further her point.
It is no different than a professor producing a scholarly tome. Students do the bulk of the time-consuming research and the rough drafts of the sections assigned to them.
The "scholar" is the navigator if you will: he decides what is relevant, what is included and what parts are still missing.
It is not possible for one person to do all the leg work alone, given the research volume and depth required to reach a solid, binding conclusion.
Douglas' refusal to step down despite obvious mental confusion led Rehnquist and the other justices to secretly stop counting his vote in some cases.
!!!!!
If you know anyone who has been through Chemo, you will remember that for the few weeks that they were recieving treatment, they had terrible diarrhea, they were nauseous, and they looked like death-warmed-over.
Someone undergoing Chemo CAN function, but he may be doing a good part of his work with his derriere planted on a toilet bowl while "the runs" attempt to consume his every waking moment.
Should he resign from his job because he may be housebound for a few weeks? No.
Should he avoid a public appearances? Absolutely. People have a hard time shedding the image of someone who looked like a walking corpse when that person goes back to his natural self.
And, when your derriere isn't planted there, it has probably been re-located so as to make room for your head.
But, to confirm, one can still function -- but there are distractions.
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