Chief Justice to remain on Court
on Jul 14, 2005 at 9:52 pm
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said Thursday night that he plans to remain on the Supreme Court, and has no plans to retire. His statement was released at about 9 p.m. to the Associated Press by a member of his family, but was later confirmed by the Court. (The White House said it was not informed of the statement before its release.)
Kathleen L. Arberg, the Court’s public information officer, read this statement to inquiring reporters, saying it was issued in the name of the Chief Justice:
“I want to put to rest the speculation and unfounded rumors of my imminent retirement. I am not about to announce my retirement. I will continue to perform my duties as Chief Justice as long as my health permits.”
For weeks, news reporters at the Court have been making repeated requests for some statement from the Chief Justice about his plans, along with requests for interviews. Uniformly, Rehnquist had refused to respond to those inquiries. It thus came as a complete surprise that his family chose to volunteer a statement, to one news organization. Since he was diagnosed last fall with thyroid cancer, any statement about his condition has been released through the Court. There was no explanation for the change in approach Thursday night.
Rehnquist had returned to his home in Arlington, Va., earlier in the day, after spending two nights in a local hospital being treated for a fever that had developed, apparently on Tuesday evening. There is no new information about the state of his health, beyond his statement that he planned to continue to work.
The Chief Justice lately has shown some mild resentment about the growing number of news camera crews staking out his home, and filming his comings and goings. At one encounter last week, when someone shouted a question about possible retirement, he responded quietly: “That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” It is conceivable that the family decided to issue a statement about Rehnquist’s intentions, in order to try to end or reduce the intensity of the news stakeout.
(NOTE: A preliminary analysis of the effect of Rehnquist’s decision on the selection of a replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor appears on the companion Supreme Court Nomination blog.)
