22 Sep 2014
U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.’s appearance at the University of Nebraska College of Law Friday, September 19, 2014, drew over 500 people including many reporters and VIPS.
In the conversational-style appearance, Roberts sat in a chair on stage right while he answered prepared questions from William Jay Riley, '72, Chief Judge of the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Several of the questions had been submitted by students at Oakland-Craig and Wahoo schools, who watched the talk via web streaming.
The event was covered by reporters from ABC News, the Associated Press, and several Nebraska newspapers and broadcasters.
Some of the highlights, according to the Associated Press and Tweets posted during the talk:
- Roberts is worried about partisanship in the judicial confirmation process and the public perception that the court is a political body, the AP reported.http://go.unl.edu/ksim
- He lamented that the “eminently qualified” Justice Elena Kagan was confirmed on an almost strict partisan vote, Joe Duggan of the Omaha World-Herald reported. http://go.unl.edu/jerj
- Jeff Zeleny, ABC News Senior Washington Correspondent, tweeted Roberts’ comment that neither Justice Antonin Scalia nor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could survive confirmation if they went before the Senate today. “Neither one of them would have a chance today. That’s not good.”
- Jenn Schanz of KLKN TV Channel 8 in Lincoln tweeted this quote from the chief justice: “We need to keep the partisan divide on the other side of First Street.”
- Lori Pilger of the Lincoln Journal-Star chose this Roberts quote for one of her Tweets: “We are not part of the political process. We don’t make decisions on political grounds.”
Other highlights recounted on Twitter:
Asked how his undergraduate degree in history influences his work, Roberts quipped “I went to law school because I couldn’t get a job in history.”
His aim is to be fair when he assigns opinions to other justices. Each gets a share of important cases and “dogs,” he said.
When asked what he does for fun, Roberts said “I have two teenaged kids. I go to soccer games, hockey games and school plays.”
Question: “Is being chief justice everything you imagined?” Answer: “More.”
A video of the conversation between Cheif Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Chief Judge William Jay Riley is available on the College of Law Alumni Continuing Legal Education and Programming page.