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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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