Rehnquist Dead

Breaking news: Chief Justice William Rehnquist has died. Rehnquist had been ill with thyroid cancer and apparently his health declined dramatically in the last few days. He died earlier this evening at his home, ending a 33-year career on the Supreme Court, where he had been Chief Justice since 1986. Rehnquist’s career on the Supreme Court lasted so long he actually voted on Roe v. Wade, which he opposed. Rehnquist was one of the court’s conservatives, voting against a recount in Bush v. Gore, acting as the court’s sole dissenter in Bob Jones University v. the United States, voting with the majority opinion in Bowers v. Hardwick and joining his usual pals, Scalia and Thomas, in dissenting in Lawrence v. Texas.

My prediction, partially because I like to be right (even if it takes a while) is that J. Michael Luttig becomes the second new potential Supreme Court justice of the year, but that Clarence Thomas becomes the USA’s first African-American Chief Justice.