Farewell To Rehnquist & His Gold Stripes

I was sorry, but not surprised, to hear of Chief Justice William Rehnquist's resignation from the U.S. Supreme Court today. He has been a fine jurist whose opinions have been straightforward and clear, showing little of the "gray" logic of imprecision and ambiguity shown by other Court members in recent years.

He will not only be missed, he will be difficult to replace...in some ways more difficult to replace than outgoing Justice Sandra O'Conner.

One thing I will not miss will be the silly gold bands Rehnquist added to his robes to distinguish himself from his "non-Chief Justice" colleagues. The Chief Justice should view him/herself as the "first of equals." The emphasis should always be more on the "equal" part of the equation rather than on the "first" part. Those gold bands always appeared to me to signal a sort of "look-at-me" pride that, ironically, seemed to diminish, rather than increase, the status of this high office.

I sincerely hope that his replacement will return to the time-honored tradition of wearing a plain, black robe like every other American judge.

UPDATE: Well, as should be obvious, being on an extended vacation and trying to catch the news in bits and pieces has left me with more than a little egg on my face! Rehnquist is, of course, still on the court and may well be there long enough to welcome John Roberts, his former court intern, as a member of the Court by his own right! I continue to wish Chief Justice Rehnquist both life and health but still look forward to the day when those ghastly "stripes" are retired to the Smithsonian.