The NEW Chief Justice

Chief Justice Roberts has been on the job for a few months now and CNN has a nice article about how he (and the court) have adjusted.

This is in stark contrast to the mood during the year preceding Roberts' arrival, when anxiety over the health of his ailing predecessor, William Rehnquist, cast a cloud over the court's mood. "The change has been amazing, the justices are a happy bunch again," said one court official, who asked not to be identified. "They joke in arguments, they joke among themselves privately. The chief was just the type of man this place needed."

It isn't hard to imagine how watching the previous chief slowly whither away affected the court.