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Roberts to be confirmed as U.S. Chief Justice
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-29 19:54

John Glover Roberts Jr., backed by a united Senate Republican majority and about half of a divided Democratic minority, is taking his place as the nation's 17th chief justice, to lead the Supreme Court into the 21st century and through turbulent social issues that will affect generations to come.


Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee John Roberts smiles during questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in this Sept. 14, 2005 file photo. The Senate on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005 concentrated on who will be President Bush's next pick for the Supreme Court, signifying just how much of a lock chief justice nominee John Roberts has on the job. [AP]

Roberts was to be confirmed Thursday by at least 77 senators in the GOP-controlled Senate, or more than three-fourths of the 100-member chamber, as President Bush's selection to replace the late William H. Rehnquist. The 50-year-old U.S. appeals court judge then was to be quickly sworn into his new position at the White House so he could take his seat on Monday in time for the new court session where justices will tackle issues like assisted suicide, campaign finance law and abortion.

The Bush administration wants the Supreme Court to reinstate a national ban on a type of late-term abortion, and the court already has scheduled arguments on whether New Hampshire's parental notification law is unconstitutional because it lacks an exception allowing a minor to have an abortion to protect her health in the event of a medical emergency.

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 anxious to see how he will vote on abortion cases before the high court.
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