Chief Justice

MAYBE IF THERE HAD BEEN NO KATRINA, and if the Iraqi occupation were proceeding as Pentagon optimists had once envisioned -- with the few thousand remaining U.S. troops in the country lolling about in the dozens of Starbucks cafes popping up across Mesopotamia by now -- President Bush would have tried elevating Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas to serve as the chief justice of the United States. But under present conditions, Bush doesn't need any more trouble than he already has.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court justices sounded closely split on gay marriage Tuesday, but Justice Anthony M. Kennedy suggested the court should strike down California's ban on same-sex marriage without ruling broadly on the issue. Twice during the oral argument, Kennedy questioned why the court had voted to hear the California case.  “I wonder if this case was properly granted,” Kennedy said at one point. His comments suggested that the court's four most conservative justices voted to hear the California case.

Maine's chief justice said unexpectedly that he is resigning immediately to run for governor next year. Chief Justice Daniel Wathen, 61, would not provide details before a scheduled news conference today in Augusta but in a resignation letter to Gov. Angus King said the decision came after careful deliberation. Wathen, a registered Republican, left unclear which party, if any, he would align with in his run for governor. He has also served under Democratic and Republican governors.

Sabyasachi Mukharji, 63, chief justice of India's Supreme Court. Mukharji was named to the court's top post in December after serving in a variety of government positions over a long career. He was educated at Calcutta University and practiced law in London. In 1949, he returned to Calcutta to serve on its high court. He worked in the income tax department in Calcutta from 1958 to 1968. He was named to India's Supreme Court in 1983. On Sept. 25 in London, of cardiac arrest.

Chief Justice Malcolm M. Lucas underwent successful abdominal surgery and will remain hospitalized for a brief period, a spokesman for the state Supreme Court said Wednesday. In a terse one-paragraph announcement released just before the court closed for the day, it was disclosed that the 60-year-old Lucas will recuperate at home after his release from the hospital and will continue to work on court business.

A new chief justice was sworn in Wednesday to try to unite a Pakistani Supreme Court shattered by bitter judicial and political wrangling. Ajmal Mian, the most senior justice, took the oath of office in a ceremony at the grand marble courthouse attended by 14 other justices, dozens of legislators and the governors of Pakistan's four provinces. The only justice absent was Sajjad Ali Shah.

Malcolm M. Lucas was confirmed Thursday as the chief justice of California, succeeding Rose Elizabeth Bird and beginning a new era for a state Supreme Court that is expected to become much more conservative under his leadership. Lucas sounded a conciliatory note, saying that he intended to focus his attention on the future of the court and leave behind the bitter political conflict that resulted in the unprecedented defeat of Bird and two other liberal justices in the November election.

In California this year, the voters are clamoring for frontier justice. As in the movies, a lynch mob has gathered outside the jail, demanding that murderers be turned over for punishment. A judge stands in the doorway, trying to tell the mob what the law and civilization demand. Unlike the movies, however, the judge is a woman, and she is campaigning to stay in office.

Zimbabwe's chief justice signed a compromise deal to retire nine months early, ending a standoff with the government and threats of violence to remove him. Judge Anthony Gubbay, 68, also agreed to go on vacation immediately, allowing the government to appoint an acting chief justice in his absence. The deal, which comes amid recent government crackdowns on those perceived as critical voices, calls for Gubbay to leave his post June 30.

Judge Thomas Fay was sworn in as state Supreme Court chief justice Tuesday to replace Joseph Bevilacqua, who resigned amid a scandal and impeachment probe. Fay, 45, was elected the state's 56th chief justice by the Legislature to replace Bevilacqua, who resigned May 28 during a House impeachment probe that delved into his ties with reputed mobsters and questionable personal dealings.