Roberts named as new chief justice of the US

John Roberts became the 17th chief justice of the US today, overwhelmingly confirmed by the Senate to lead the Supreme Court through turbulent social issues for generations to come.

The Senate voted 78-22 to confirm Roberts – a 50-year-old US Appeals judge - as the successor to the late William Rehnquist, who died earlier this month. All of the Senate’s majority Republicans, and about half of the Democrats, voted for Roberts.

Underscoring the rarity of a chief justice’s confirmation, senators answered the roll by standing one by one at their desks as their names were called, instead of voting and leaving the chamber.

Roberts is the first new Supreme Court justice since 1994. Before becoming a federal judge, Roberts was one of the best appellate lawyers in the US, arguing 39 cases – many in front of the same eight justices he will now lead as chief justice.

He won 25 of those cases.