The moment that news of Chief Justice Vinson's death flashed out of Washington, the speculation began: Who will be the 14th Chief Justice of the U.S.? When will President Eisenhower nominate him?
There is a long-standing precedent involved in "When?" In 1795, after George Washington gave South Carolina's John Rutledge an interim appointment as the second Chief Justice (to succeed John Jay), the Senate refused to confirm Rutledge. (Washington, rebuffed, appointed Oliver Ellsworth and got his man confirmed.) Since then, no President has named a Chief Justice when Congress was not in session. If...
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