US Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist died at his Arlington, Virginia home tonight after a long battle with thyroid cancer.

A statement from the spokeswoman said he was surrounded by his three children when he died in Arlington.

"The Chief Justice battled thyroid cancer since being diagnosed last October and continued to perform his dues on the court until a precipitous decline in his health the last couple of days," she said.

Rehnquist was appointed to the Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1971 by President Nixon and took his seat on Jan. 7, 1982. He was elevated to chief justice by President Reagan in 1986.

His death ends a remarkable 33-year Supreme Court career during which Rehnquist oversaw the court's conservative shift, presided over an impeachment trial and helped decide a presidential election.

Fasten your seatbelts; September on the Hill has just become even more interesting.

Posted by: mhking at 06:10 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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