In today's print edition of the Daily Journal (subscribers only), I report on an interesting point of trivia: Barack Obama will be the first president to be sworn in by a chief justice whose Senate confirmation he voted against.
The U.S. Senate Historical Office and several Supreme Court historians confirmed the little-known fact Wednesday.
Obama, of course, voted against the confirmation of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in September 2005.
As I note in the story:
Despite Obama's vote, it's unlikely to sour the occasion for either man, according to David J. Garrow, an expert on Supreme Court history who teaches at the University of Cambridge.
"We've got two gentlemen who are both smoother than silk in their style of personal interaction," he said. "I don't think it's going to loom large in any way."
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3 comments:
Are we even sure that it will be C.J. Roberts? That is not a constitutional requirement, merely a tradition.
You're right, but my understanding is that it is expected to be Roberts.
It's a nice little footnote. Good work, Lawrence.
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