Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist is considering a return to the bench Monday when the court resumes hearing oral arguments, a court spokeswoman said yesterday. If he does come back, it would be his first appearance at oral arguments since late October, when he began undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer.
Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said that, as of yesterday, Rehnquist had not decided whether he would attend. This was in contrast to the court's last two argument sessions, in January and late February; in both cases, the court announced on the preceding Friday that the chief justice would not appear.
The officially acknowledged possibility that Rehnquist might return was the most recent sign that the chief justice's medical condition may have stabilized. On Jan. 20, Rehnquist, leaning on a cane, made his way to the Capitol to swear in President Bush for a second term. He wore a device on his neck that enabled him to speak despite a tracheostomy, the hole surgeons made in his throat last October to ease respiration.
Earlier this week, Rehnquist, 80, presided over a two-hour private meeting of the Judicial Conference, a federal judges' body that gathers twice a year at the Supreme Court. Witnesses described him to reporters as seeming in good spirits and moving without assistance.
Court officials say that Rehnquist has been working at his office frequently in recent weeks. Though he has not attended arguments, he has continued to vote in all cases except those that were argued during November.
The court has not provided specific details of Rehnquist's ailment. But outside experts have surmised, in published reports not denied by the court, that he has the symptoms of anaplastic thyroid cancer, which is usually fatal within a year of diagnosis.
