Roberts's Personal Skills and Political Savvy Seen as Assets

In an Aug. 31, 1982, White House memo, Roberts advised his bosses on relations between the executive branch and the Supreme Court. The document showed great solicitude for the sometimes prickly sensibilities of the justices.

"Any effort to improve relations between the Executive Branch and the members of the Supreme Court must be undertaken with extreme care to ensure that there is no appearance of an effort to affect the deliberations or decisions of the Justices," Roberts wrote. "The dignity of the Court must also be maintained, and the Justices should under no circumstances be made to feel that they are being used as part of any political campaign or an effort to achieve any political end."

In inviting justices to state dinners, Roberts counseled, "no favoritism should be shown based on the Justice's individual views."

If confirmed by the Senate, Roberts, 50, would be the youngest chief justice since John Marshall took office at the age of 45 in 1801; he would also be taking the helm of a group that has been together for the last 11 years and has known no other chief justice during that time.

Yet few expect either Roberts's age or his newness on the court to be liabilities. That is because he is already so familiar to the current justices, both from his 39 oral arguments before them, and from socializing outside the courtroom.

"He probably knows them as judges and as people better than all but a few other people," said David G. Leitch, a former associate White House counsel in the Bush administration who also served as a law clerk to Rehnquist.

As chief justice, Roberts would also serve as head of the Judicial Conference, which makes policy on behalf of the entire federal judiciary. In this role, Roberts will be expected to represent all federal courts in their efforts to win budget funding and salary increases from Congress, as well as to fend off threats to the judicial branch's independence that might come from the legislative or the executive branch.

There is even a cultural side to the post as chief justice. If confirmed, Roberts would, by law, serve on the boards of the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.