Reid asked justice not to retire yet

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, Sept. 8, 2005 | 9:39 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist this summer had confided in an unlikely friend -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid -- that he would remain on the bench, even as the Republican-appointee kept the rest of the nation guessing as to his intentions, Reid said Wednesday.

Reid of Nevada said he had called Rehnquist in July as media speculation and Washington guessing games swirled around Rehnquist's intentions. Reid apologized for calling him at home as Rehnquist was battling cancer.

"He wasn't well," Reid said Wednesday as he recalled the conversation on the Senate floor.

Reid said he gave Rehnquist some advice: Don't resign.

"He said, 'I'm not going to,' " Reid said.

Reid told the justice he wouldn't discuss the conversation, and he didn't tell anyone, even his family. Rehnquist later announced that he would remain on the bench.

"I will always remember that telephone conversation with the chief justice of the United States, and I am confident I did the right thing in calling him," Reid said.

Reid didn't say exactly why he counseled Rehnquist against retirement. Reid thought the widespread speculation about the ailing chief justice was unseemly and wanted to tell him that, Reid spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said.

"He had a lot of respect for Justice Rehnquist, even though he disagreed with a number of his opinions," Hafen said.

Reid first spoke with Rehnquist nearly 10 years ago when he invited him to speak at to a Senate Democratic Policy Committee. To Reid's surprise, Rehnquist accepted. Reid was struck by his sense of humor, he said.

Reid and Rehnquist got to know each other better during breaks in President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial that Rehnquist presided over.

"I'm sorry he's not going to be on the court anymore because I thought he was an outstanding administrator," Reid said Wednesday, shortly before attending Rehnquist's funeral. "We're going to miss his voice."

There's nothing surprising about the Senate Democratic leader advising a conservative justice to stick around, said Elliot Mincberg, legal director for People for the American Way, which opposes conservative judges. That's the kind of caring remark one could expect from Reid, Mincberg said.

"It sounds to me like something one person who has been around for a long time would say to another person who has been around a long time."

There was also an obvious benefit to Reid because a Republican occupied the White House, said Sean Rushton, executive director of Committee for Justice, which advocates President Bush's judicial nominees.

"I'm sure on a personal level, just for humane reasons, that you would say something like that to someone who is ill -- 'Stay in the game, we need you,' " Rushton said. "But is there potentially a secondary motive? Sure. It's a shame we have to have so much maneuvering."