Chief Justice Roberts
Suffers Seizure

MARK SHERMAN / AP 30jul2007

Chief Justice John Roberts suffered a seizure at his summer home in Maine on Monday, causing a fall that resulted in minor scrapes, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said.

He will remain in a hospital in Maine overnight.

"It's my understanding he's fully recovered, said Christopher Burke, a spokesman for Penobscot Bay Medical Center, where Roberts was taken.

Roberts, 52, was taken by ambulance to the medical center, where he underwent a "thorough neurological evaluation, which revealed no cause for concern," Arberg said in a statement.

Roberts had a similar episode in 1993, she said.

Doctors called Monday's incident "a benign idiopathic seizure," Arberg said. The White House described the January 1993 episode as an "isolated, idiosyncratic seizure."

A benign seizure means that doctors performed an MRI and other tests to conclude there was no tumor, stroke or other explanation.

In addition, doctors would have quickly ruled out simple explanations such as dehydration or low blood sugar.

By definition, someone who has had more than one seizure without any other cause is determined to have epilepsy, said Dr. Marc Schlosberg, a neurologist at Washington Hospital Center, who is not involved in the Roberts' case.

Whether Roberts will need anti-seizure medications to prevent another is something he and his doctor will have to decide.

But after two seizures, the likelihood of another at some point is greater than 60 percent.

"When it's going to occur, obviously nobody knows," Schlosberg said.

The incident occurred around 2 p.m. EDT on a dock near the home in Port Clyde on Maine's Hupper Island. Port Clyde, which is part of the town of St. George, is about 90 miles by car northeast of Portland, midway up the coast of Maine.

Roberts was taken by private boat to the mainland and then transferred to an ambulance, St. George Fire Chief Tim Polky said.

"He was conscious and alert when they put him in the rescue (vehicle)," Polky said.

Named to the court by President Bush in 2005, Roberts is the youngest justice on a court in which the senior member, John Paul Stevens, is 87. Bush was informed of the hospitalization by his chief of staff, Josh Bolten, the White House said.

Roberts is the father of two young children.

Larry Robbins, a Washington attorney who worked with Roberts at the Justice Department in 1993, said he drove Roberts to work for several months after the incident. Robbins said Roberts never mentioned what the problem was and he never heard of it happening again.

In 2001, Roberts described his health as "excellent," according to Senate Judiciary Committee records.

Roberts became chief justice after the death of William Rehnquist in September 2005, although Bush had first chosen him to take Sandra Day O'Connor's seat when she announced her retirement earlier that year.

He had served as an appellate judge in Washington and spent more than a decade before that as a lawyer at the Hogan and Hartson law firm, where he specialized in arguing cases before the Supreme Court.

Roberts also served in the Reagan and Bush administrations in the 1980s and '90s. He was a clerk for Rehnquist after graduating from Harvard Law School.

Roberts spent a couple of weeks in Europe in July, teaching a course in Vienna and attending a conference in Paris. He was at the court in Washington late last week.

Associated Press writer David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this story.

source: 30jul2007

Seizure Causes U.S. Chief Justice Fall

UPI 30jul2007

WASHINGTON — U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts was hospitalized Monday after a seizure caused him to fall at his Maine vacation home, a court spokeswoman said.

Roberts, 52, who was confirmed chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in September 2005, remained conscious after tumbling on a dock at his seashore summer home at Port Clyde on Maine's Hupper Island, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg told CNN.

Roberts, the youngest of the court's nine justices suffered only minor scrapes when he fell but was being kept overnight at a hospital to further assess his condition, CNN said.

Roberts has "fully recovered from the incident," and a neurological evaluation "revealed no cause for concern," the Supreme Court said. The incident was described as a "benign idiopathic seizure," CNN said.

It wasn't widely reported, but the chief justice also had a seizure in 1993, CNN said.

Roberts was nominated by President George Bush to replace late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who died of cancer Sept. 3, 2005, at age 80.

source: 30jul2007

Chief Justice Roberts Suffers Seizure, Fall

JESS BRAVIN and KEVIN HELLIKER
Wall Street Journal 31jul2007

Chief Justice John Roberts, vacationing in Maine, was hospitalized after suffering a seizure, but a preliminary medical examination found no cause for concern, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said.

Mr. Roberts suffered minor scrapes in the incident from a fall on the dock near his home near Port Clyde, Maine. He was taken by ambulance to a medical center in Rockport, Maine, where he underwent a neurological evaluation. Doctors determined that he had suffered a benign idiopathic seizure and said he is "fully recovered," spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said. Mr. Roberts remained in the hospital overnight for observation.

An idiopathic seizure is one caused by no underlying structural abnormalities, such as head trauma, tumors or hemorrhaging. Though described in excellent health, he experienced a similar seizure in 1993, court officials said.

Dr. Michael C. Smith, a neurologist with the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said that two or more seizures qualify for a diagnosis of epilepsy and typically prompt discussion about whether to initiate an antiepileptic medication. Following a seizure, the law in many states requires victims to forgo driving for a certain period of time.

About 10% of people have a single seizure in their lifetimes, and about 4% have more than one, said Dr. Smith, adding that a common cause is high temperature, a concurrent illness or some other form of stress. "You wouldn't necessarily expect him to have one on vacation," he said.

At age 52, the chief justice is the youngest member of a court whose senior member, Justice John Paul Stevens, is 87. Justices, like federal circuit and district judges, serve for life, and many members of the court have continued to serve even through deteriorating health. The court is in recess until October.

source: p.A4 31jul2007