Roberts takes oath as US chief justice
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-30 08:47

Roberts took a separate judicial oath during a private White House ceremony attended by the other justices. A formal Supreme court ceremony was scheduled for Monday, before the opening of the term.

O'Connor, a moderate voice on the Supreme Court and one of only two women, is leaving after 24 years. It is the first time in 34 years that a president has had simultaneous high court openings.

The president originally named Roberts to succeed O'Connor in July. Rehnquist's death led to the switch to Roberts for the chief justice on Sept. 6. O'Connor remains on the court until the president selects a replacement and that person is confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate.

The only justice not at the White House was Antonin Scalia. He had a previous engagement that could not be broken, a court spokeswoman said. According to the Federalist Society Web site, he was leading a two-day seminar on the separation of powers in Avon, Colo.

Not since John Marshall, confirmed in 1801 at 45, has there been a younger chief. Roberts is the first new Supreme Court justice since 1994.

Judge John Roberts(L) is sworn in as US Supreme Court Chief Justice at the White House in Washington, DC by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens a few hours after being confirmed in the Senate Thursday, Sept 29, 2005, in Washington. [AFP]

Before becoming a federal appeals court 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. He won 25 of those cases.

Under Roberts, the court will tackle such issues as 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.

Said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn: "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 as 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 Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

Anti-abortion 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 and his wife, Jane, volunteers for Feminists for Life, both sides were eager to see how he would vote on abortion cases.

Roberts told senators during his 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 of privacy in the sale and use of contraceptives.

But he tempered that by saying Supreme Court justices can overturn rulings.

"If the Constitution says that the little guy should win, then the little guy's going to win in the court before me," Roberts told senators. "But if the Constitution says that the big guy should win, well then the big guy's going to win because my obligation is to the Constitution."

Over and over, he has assured lawmakers his rulings would be guided by his understanding of the facts of cases, the law and the Constitution, not by his personal views. "My faith and my religious beliefs do not play a role," said Roberts, who is Catholic.

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