Chief Justice Rehnquist Released From Hospital

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Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist was released Friday from the hospital and is recovering at home from treatment for thyroid cancer, a Supreme Court spokesman said.

In a statement, the Supreme Court said the 80-year-old jurist spent the weekend in Bethesda Naval Hospital and had a tracheotomy on Saturday.

The Supreme Court is not meeting this week, and Rehnquist is expected back on the bench when the court returns to work on Monday, Nov. 1.

The chief justice has had a series of health problems. In 2002, he missed several sessions after hurting his knee in a fall.

The news is serving as a reminder that next week’s presidential vote will likely determine who will appoint the next justice to the high court.

The last court vacancy came in 1994, when President Bill Clinton appointed Stephen Breyer after Justice Harry Blackmun retired.

Though he’s long defied such rumors, Rehnquist’s possible retirement has often been discussed. However, he has hired staff through June 2006.

Rehnquist, the second-oldest chief justice ever, was appointed to the court in 1972 by President Richard Nixon and elevated to chief justice in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan.

Initially, his conservative views appeared in dissents from the more liberal court. But as Reagan and the first President George Bush appointed more conservative justices, Rehnquist wrote more often for the majority.

His conservative legacy includes empowering states, limiting abortion and preserving the death penalty.

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