Roberts holds court at Mead

Author: Kathryn Flagg

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., delivered the Fulton Lecture in the Liberal Arts Tuesday evening, paying tribute to his predecessor and mentor, the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, after President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz announced the establishment of a professorship in Rehnquist's honor.

In a 22-minute address commending Middlebury College for its creation of the new professorship, Roberts spoke of the significant role that Rehnquist played in shaping the modern Supreme Court's approach to legal arguments.

"During his time in the Court, he presided over what I think is a very significant change in the way the Court conducted its business," said Roberts. Forty years ago legal arguments were more free-ranging, Roberts said, but when Rehnquist left they were more grounded in the law.

Roberts, who served as a clerk for Rehnquist twenty-six years ago, also shared anecdotes that illustrated Rehnquist's rather unconventional life decisions, such as his decision to skip a State of the Union address one year so he could attend a watercolor-painting workshop at his local YMCA.

"Chief Justice Rehnquist told his clerks regularly that their lives would be shaped by an endless series of choices. He put it that, and I'm quoting now, 'How wisely you make those choices will determine how well you think you've spent your life and look back on it,'" Roberts said. "If you look back at the life of Justice Rehnquist, I am struck by how many of his choices were unconventional or, even if conventional, were made in very unconventional ways."

Liebowitz named Professor of History James R. Ralph Jr., the first recipient of the Justice William H. Rehnquist Professorship of American History and Culture, which was funded by an anonymous donor to further the study of American history, literature and culture.

Roberts said that the professorship was appropriately named because Chief Rehnquist was a very important figure in American history. Rehnquist himself visited the College in 1999 and has ties to Middlebury - his daughter Nancy Spears is married to Dean of the College Tim Spears.

"This gift is a wonderful tribute to our father, who not only greatly enjoyed his visits to Middlebury College but also was a passionate student of American history," said Nancy Spears in a College press release.

While in Vermont, Roberts also met with state federal judges, the Vermont Supreme Court and Vermont State Governor Jim Douglas '75 and the governor's wife.



A TOUGH VENUE



In response to the lecture, Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science Murray Dry noted, "It wasn't his intention to be controversial, and he wasn't," said Dry. "It wasn't his intention to reveal secrets, and he didn't." Dry stressed, however, that the lecture included several revealing remarks about the justice's philosophy on the judicial process. He pointed in particular to Roberts's remarks on the opinion-writing process.

"There was a phrase that particularly struck me," Dry said. "'Opinion writing is part of the decision process.' … [Roberts] is really interested in creating a consensus." He continued, "I think in many ways he fleshed out vibrancy and vitality of the rule of law."

A question and answer period followed the lecture during which Roberts fielded questions on the role of legal precedent, the challenges facing the Court in the coming twenty years, the perceived weakness of the judicial branch and the obstacles he faced in his first year on the Court.

"These venues are tough," Liebowitz admitted, acknowledging that because Justices are forbidden to speak about current cases before the Court, Roberts had to "talk around" some of the more direct questions posed by students. For many of those in attendance, however, the unscripted period of questions and answers provided the bulk of the lecture's insight.

"As is often the case," said Dean of the College Tim Spears, "the question and answer session ends up being as illuminating as the presentation itself."

Following the lecture, students, faculty and administrators voiced varying opinions about the address.

"From my perspective it was a superb event for the College," said Liebowitz, standing at the edge of a group of students waiting to meet Roberts during a reception held at the McCullough Student Center. Liebowitz stressed that the Chief Justice was "impressed and surprised" at the caliber of the students he met at the College.

"He was heartened to see that constitutional law could be studied so deeply at the undergraduate level," said Liebowitz. "The Chief Justice is leaving with an incredibly high opinion of Middlebury students and the quality of our liberal arts education."

Though students offered mixed reactions to the lecture, many were delighted at the opportunity to meet and listen to Roberts. Antoinette Rangel '09, president of the College Democrats, was present at the luncheon held in Roberts's honor. The event, as well as the evening's lecture, offered an opportunity to "humanize someone who is so important in the judicial world today," Rangel said. She was impressed by how "very level headed and down-to-earth" Roberts was in his interactions with students.

A few students voiced dissatisfaction following the lecture. "I thought it was really irrelevant," said David Wrangham '08.5. "He didn't say anything that had to do with his job, with government, with our position in the world today. Instead he had a lot of semi-interesting anecdotes about a conservative judge."

Wrangham continued, "Nothing that he said was interesting to me either as a student of Middlebury College or as a citizen of the United States of America."

The speech followed a luncheon held Tuesday, during which Roberts met with roughly 40 College students and a few dozen professors and guests. "We wanted to make this student-centered," said Liebowitz of Roberts's visit, "and it was."

Peter Wolkowski '06.5, who attended the invitation-only lunch, said, "I'm glad that during our time at Middlebury such a prominent public figure was able to come to our little town."

Alumni, even those not on campus, saw the event as a milestone for the College.

"I think it's great for the College to have somebody of this stature come and deliver an important address," said Elliot Polebaum '72, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer who clerked for the late Justice William Brennen during the same term that Roberts worked under Rehnquist. "He's a great role model and shows how somebody who works hard and puts his nose to the grindstone … can make an extraordinary impact on the lives of people."

Polebaum continued, "In a nutshell, I would say it's a feather in the cap of the school and a great opportunity for students." In an age of increasingly polarized politics, Polebaum said, students should not underestimate the "tremendous influence" of the Supreme Court. "Lots of controversial issues get dumped in the lap of the court," he said, and though Roberts is "one of nine," he is a "brilliant lawyer" and a "thoughtful and intelligent individual."



A PATH PAVED WITH STUDENTS



Tuesday's address, which a College official said was attended by roughly 750 people at Mead and 400 people at satellite viewing locations in Dana Auditorium and John McCardell Jr. Bicentennial Hall, was the culminating event of Roberts's highly-anticipated visit. The event drew small and peaceful protests outside of Mead Chapel: as students lined up for the address, demonstrators appeared in costumes alluding to the photographs that sparked the Abu Ghraib scandal. Bearing cardboard signs that read "this is not a Halloween costume," "stop torture," "made in the U.S.A." and "does this look like justice?" the students took their places silently on the steps of the chapel to protest the American treatmen
t of prisoners of war.

As the line for admittance to the address grew, additional protestors arrived bearing signs and shouting call-and-response outcries against policies promoted by the Bush administration. Surrounded by a growing ring of local reporters and television crews, the demonstrators continued to brandish their signs as those waiting for the doors to open looked on.

Joining students in their efforts were several community members, including Carol Spooner '50, a Weybridge resident. "I want to hear what [Roberts] has to say," said Spooner, holding a sign that read "U.S. Constitution, Geneva Convention" and called for an end to torture.

"I'm not here to protest," said Spooner, "I'm here to demonstrate. There's a difference."

The number of protestors, however, was dwarfed by the outpouring of students, staff, faculty and community members vying for coveted seats in Mead Chapel. The first students arrived as early as 4 p.m. Anne Willborn '10 admitted that she "ran" to the event, staking her place in front of the doors at 4:30 p.m. "It was really important to me," she said.

By the time ushers opened the chapel doors, hundreds of students had lined Storr's Walk from Mead to Old Chapel Road. Despite chilly autumn temperatures and a light rain students kept spirits up with study groups and pick-up games of Catch Phrase or cards.

Spooner, who returned to her alma mater to hear addresses from both Ari Fleischer '82 in 2002 and Rehnquist in 1998, said that the excitement obvious in students as they awaited Roberts's speech far exceeded the energy generated by previous events.

Hovering in line outside of Mead Chapel, however, Jessica Nicols '07 voiced concerns about the seating capacity of the venue.

"We're so close," said Nicols, as the flow of students entering the chapel slowed around 7:30 p.m. After waiting in line for an hour and 15 minutes, the senior admitted, "I can't feel my toes."

Many of those unable to secure seats at the primary venue, however, watched the address and the following question-and-answer session from the satellite feeds. Feeder locations at Bicentennial Hall and Dana Auditorium were filled almost to capacity, according to Associate Director of Public Affairs Sarah Ray.

Roberts's visit to the campus marked the second by a U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice. Rehnquist gave a Fulton lecture in 1998. The John Hamilton Fulton Lecture in the Liberal Arts was established at the College in 1966 by an emeritus member of the College Board of Trustees. Previous Fulton lecturers have included James A. Baker, III, Wynton Marsalis and Elie Wiesel.

Additional reporting by Scott Greene, Sonja Pederson-Green, Lisie Mehlman and Benjamin Salkowe.