EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Considering Stepping Down

[RamboLiberal]

John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, is seriously considering stepping down from the nation’s highest court for personal reasons, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

Roberts, known for his conservative judicial philosophy, has served on the Supreme Court since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of former Chief William Rehnquist.

RadarOnline.com has been told that Roberts, 55, could announce his decision at any time.

The decision paves the way for President Barack Obama to make his second appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court following his first, Sonia Sotomayor.

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/03/exclusive-us-supreme-court-chief-justice-john-roberts-considering-step-down

Sludge: TOP COURT SOURCE TELLS DRUDGE: 'THIS IS NOT HAPPENING... NEWS TO ME'... DEVELOPING...

I doubt if true, but damn wouldn't that be sweet?! If true illness or scandal?

[KingFlorez]

1. Please let it be true

If it is, I will be doing backflips.

[hvn_nbr_2]

52. If it is true, the reason is probably simple.

Follow the money.

The highest "value" of wingnuts is greed.

Corporate lawyers make more money than Supreme Court justices.

[grasswire]

2. must be a rumor

Isn't he ill, though? Seizures?

[joeybee12]

3. Another Minneapolis Airport Restroom Situation?

I don't think this is true...it's too good to be true.

[SharonRB]

4. Whoa -- if this is true, it's HUGH!

We can reverse the makeup of the court with this appointment if, in fact, it happens. I have my doubts, but I'd so love to see this happen.

[TheDebbieDee]

5. Is he about to be outted? I wonder.......

[monmouth]

23. OMG, I was just about to type the exact same thing..LOL...n/t

[Tailormyst]

33. gay does not equal bad. bad does not equal gay.

[harkadog]

47. If you read the posts on this thread

you will find many of the posters do not agree with you.

[TheDebbieDee]

48. I never said Gay was bad. I just wondered if he was about to be outted.

To a closeted gay man, gay MIGHT still be bad.

[tridim]

40. Remember this picture?

[Mz Pip]

55. Why would that matter?

His appointment is for life and being gay is not a crime, so there really would be no reason for him to quit.

I do remember a couple of years ago he fell or passed out; maybe there is some health issue going on. :shrug:

[BR_Parkway]

6. Live boy? Dead Girl? - yeah, the gnashing of teeth over in Freeperland

would be heard round the world.

[Renew Deal]

7. I hope his health and family are well.

But a scandal would be amusing. Lets hope he quits. :bounce:

[wtmusic]

16. Yes.

:thumbsup:

[MineralMan]

8. I may just take up Christianity again, just to pray for this!

[LiberalFighter]

20. Don't need to pray. Probably better to chant.

Enough chanting of the right sounds might change the universe.

[SpiralHawk]

9. To spend more time with the family?

That's the typical republicon BS line before the NEWS breaks that they have been buggering baby bears, or something...

[Cronus Protagonist]

10. That man has some skeletons in the closet

Why did he and his wife buy their children instead of doing it the natural way? I think he's about to be exposed. Has Larry Flynt got the goods on his toe-tapping in the Senate restrooms, I wonder?

[LiberalFighter]

25. None of his children are biologically his? Hmmm

Do adoption agencies require any type of verified medical history when potential adopters claim they are sterile? Or do they turn a blind eye to the implications as long as they aren't outed?

[amborin]

46. really, as much as i detest Roberts' views and actions, this

is unnecessarily vicious; i had read the couple were infertile; so they chose to adopt; why do you bash him for that?

i wish more people adopted!

[Cronus Protagonist]

53. I didn't bash him for adopting

I bashed him for having skeletons in the closet and maybe a little for buying children in Mexico. Why is your interpretation so vicious? (rhetorical question)

[amborin]

54. you asked "why did he and his wife buy children?"

that is cruel phrasing

he didn't buy his children from Mexico; but adopted them in the U.S.

my interpretation is not vicious at all;

and let's say he did adopt from Mexico; do you have a problem with that?

[Cronus Protagonist]

56. I'd like to see a link about that

My information says he adopted them in Mexico, paid cash for them. And yeah, I do have a problem with that. It was reported at the time of his confirmation that he traveled out of the country to adopt so that he could specify the source of his new kids and avoid more stringent procedures and a background investigation. I don't know how much of that is true, but since the records are sealed, we'll never know. I don't have a link for that, but that's what was banded about at the time. I'll be happy to change my interpretation of that if you or anyone can provide alternative information from a decent source.

And it seems you're digging for some kind of anti-adoption position from me, and I'm not going to give you one because I'm not anti-adoption. Who the fuck would be?

I'm anti-Roberts, yeah. And I think the way he deals with his kids is creepy, made all the creepier by his buying them in the first place. I can never trust a man who never smiles openly; not only is he hiding his creepy teeth, I think he's hiding something else as well. Sure, I recognize that it's all innuendo and supposition, and also I'm not God and this is just a discussion board of little importance in the grand scheme of things. So no need to get your knickers in a twist oer my posts - just don't read 'em.

Besides, he's a fascist, which makes him fair game for all insults, IMHO. And anyway, here's the fascist you're defending... how would you like to see this face every morning and have to call it "dad".





PS - read my sig line, it's for you.

[amborin]

57. here is a link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Roberts_Supreme_Court_nomination


otherwise: i despise Roberts; but your comment sounded rather mean

the fact is, many, many people travel out of the U.S. to adopt, for many reasons. And, adoption, whether foreign or domestic, is expensive. So, one could say of any adoptive parent that, "they paid for the child." But that is usually only very loosely accurate.

[bluestateguy]

11. Uh, "Radaronline" ?

nt

[frazzled]

41. Most perceptive post on this thread.

Although there's a one-in-a-million chance they're right, c'mon folks ... Radaronline?

[Cyrano]

12. If true, I might even start to believe there's a God.

[Paper Roses]

13. One can only hope. n/t

[annabanana]

14. HEY!. . Don't play with me..

:mad:

[Ozymanithrax]

15. I'll believe it when Obama anounces the next nomination...

[LiberalFighter]

17. I can believe it. But will wait and see.

He probably realizes that before Obama leaves office he will be in the minority. And he will be ineffective even as Chief Justice.

I think he is figuring that money is more important than serving the country and the private sector is the only avenue. $$$$ in his eyes.


Or maybe they found some dirt on the asshole?

[Greybnk48]

18. Well, I sure hope it's not illness. I wish that on very few

like Cheney to name one (No apologies about it either). It would definitely be a game changer, and a sweet one at that. But I hope it's just the usual Repug "I got caught with my pants down with another man or a diaper wielding hooker" scandal.

[Better Believe It]

19. If true, I hope Obama picks a liberal rather than a conservative that wins Republican approval.

[LiberalFighter]

28. Will he fill the slot with someone already on the SC or someone outside?

[Better Believe It]

49. Good question. I hope he picks a Black man or woman since we need such representation on the court

We need someone in the mold of Thurgood Marshall who can challenge Clarence Thomas.

[libnnc]

21. Sexy-sex scandal?

:popcorn:

[Enrique]

22. Radar Online has a source inside John Roberts' inner circle?

not saying they don't, I don't know anything about Radar Online, but it seems odd...

[RamboLiberal]

26. Who knows - they are usually Hollywood & Reality Celebrity Stars

Scandals. That's why I doubt it's true but it sure would be nice if true. I wouldn't wish a serious illness on him, but a scandal - sweet.

[DefenseLawyer]

39. I'm not saying I would WISH an illness on the guy...

but if it meant getting his crazy ass off the Court, well... condolences.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

51. If it's a drug habit for Roberts, the source could be a fellow junkie

What's the incidence of recreational drug abuse among people over 5o with stressful jobs? Could it be over one in nine?

[shotten99]

24. Don't tease, but I'll pray!

[HughBeaumont]

27. Oh dear GOD let it be so.

Let's get some SANITY again. NO more done-deal dry-drunk legacy presidencies. NO more corporate personhood favoring.

[Lochloosa]

29. I'm not saying this is true, but remember the "fainting" spell he had last year.

Maybe it something a little more serious.

Ok it was a seizure in 07.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/07/30/roberts.fall/index.html

Chief justice tumbles after seizure


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Chief Justice John Roberts suffered a seizure Monday, causing him to fall while at his summer home off the coast of Maine, the Supreme Court said.


Chief Justice John Roberts was taken to a hospital in Maine after a fall at his summer home.

Roberts has "fully recovered from the incident," and a neurological evaluation "revealed no cause for concern," the Supreme Court said in a statement.

Doctors called the incident a "benign idiopathic seizure," similar to one suffered by the chief justice in 1993, the court statement said. An idiopathic seizure is one with no identifiable physiological cause.

A source close to the chief justice told CNN that Roberts fell five to 10 feet after the seizure.

[RamboLiberal]

31. That's what originally crossed my mind

Illness.

Though some skeleton in the closet had me wondering as well.

[RamboLiberal]

30. Business Insider Law Review's Take on the story

Radar Reporting Insane John Roberts Rumor: "Seriously Considering Stepping Down"*

Update: The DrudgeReport says a top court source says:'THIS IS NOT HAPPENING... NEWS TO ME'

Original post: If this is true, "shocked" would seriously understate our surprise.

Radar Online is reporting -- exclusively -- that Chief Justice John Roberts "is seriously considering stepping down for personal reasons."

Roberts is conservative, has only been on the High Court bench since 2005 and is only 55. So leaving the Supreme Court to allow Barack Obama to nominate the next Chief Justice and swing the court back (if you include Kennedy) to a liberal majority would be basically unheard of.

We'll certainly keep an eye on this one.

http://www.businessinsider.com/radar-reporting-insane-john-roberts-rumor-seriously-considering-stepping-down-2010-3

[Kitty Herder]

32. I don't even dare to hope this is true.

But wouldn't it be sweet if it was?

[arcadian]

34. Maybe there's a scandal a brewin'

[OhioChick]

35. Should be interesting. n/t

[Orsino]

36. If so, must be some sort of skeleton.

The corporations would not allow Roberts to let their majority slip away.

[Dappleganger]

37. PLEASE, GOD...

let it be true!

[truebrit71]

38. That would be fucking FANTASTIC news!!!

...unless he's ill...which would suck...but for the court and the ocuntry that would be awesome!

[RamboLiberal]

42. Huffington Post on the story

RadarOnline is reporting that Chief Justice John Roberts is "seriously considering" stepping down from the Supreme Court "for personal reasons".

Roberts, a staunch conservative, was appointed by President Bush and has served on the court since 2005. While RadarOnline doesn't give a reason for the possible retirement, Roberts, 55, has suffered two seizures, in 2007 and 1993. Time magazine speculated in 2007 that Roberts may have epilepsy. However, the Supreme Court said after the 2007 seizure that Roberts was "fully recovered" and a neurological evaluation "revealed no cause for concern."

Sources told RadarOnline that retirement announcement could come "at any time."

A spokesperson for the Supreme Court has not yet returned a request for comment from Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/04/john-roberts-stepping-dow_n_485842.html

[RamboLiberal]

43. RadarOnline now says Untrue on him stepping down

Update: RadarOnline.com has obtained new information that Justice Roberts will NOT resign. The justice will be staying on the bench.

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/03/exclusive-us-supreme-court-chief-justice-john-roberts-considering-step-down

Makes me wonder where they got it in the first place to run with it.

[Enrique]

44. bummer

I liked the first story better. :-(

Whatever happened with this story, I'm glad that Radar Online didn't drag it out...

[LaydeeBug]

45. apparently it's not true, but damn that was exciting. nt

[mnhtnbb]

50. A little early for April Fool's, isn't it?

[Kablooie]

58. Why does RADAR ONLINE get this first? Who they hell are they?

[4_TN_TITANS]

59. Tease.....