Chief Justice has seizure, falls; Court says he has recovered
UPDATE: At 6:40 p.m., the Supreme Court issued the following statement:
“Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., took a fall about 2 p.m. today near his summer home in Maine after suffering what doctors describe as a benign idiopathic seizure. He experienced minor scrapes in the fall. The Chief Justice is fully recovered from the incident. He was taken by ambulance to Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine, where he underwent a thorough neurological evaluation, which revealed no cause for concern. He will remain overnight at the medical center as a precaution. The Chief Justice experienced a similar event in 1993.
“The Chief Justice is 52 years old and was appointed to the Court in 2005.”
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UPDATED to 5:20 p.m. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg said that the Chief Justice remained at the hospital at this hour, and that he was “conscious and alert.” She confirmed that he was taken for examination to the Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport after a fall on a dock on Hupper Island at around 2 p.m. As of this time, Ms Arberg said, Roberts has not been admitted to the hospital.
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Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., fell at his vacation home on an island just off the coast of Maine at mid-afternoon Monday, and was taken by ambulance to a hospital in the area “as a precaution,” the Supreme Court disclosed. There were no immediate details on whether he was injured, or how severely, or about the circumstances of his fall, according to Kathleen L. Arberg, the Court’s public information officer. Roberts is 52.
His summer home, bought in the late spring of 2006, is on a 2-acre plot on Hupper Island, about 2 kilometers off the coast from a point near Port Clyde, Maine. Port Clyde is described locally as “a fishing village located on St. George Peninsula, which is a point of land between the towns of Thomaston and Rockland.” Roberts’ home there is about 225 feet from shore with a water view across Muscongus Bay toward the mainland, according to a news wire account in June 2006. That report said the island had 20 to 30 homes.
An initial report Monday indicated that the Chief Justice was taken to Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine, within 15 miles of Port Clyde. A public information representative at the Center said at 4 p.m. Monday that she could not confirm “at this time” that the Chief Justice was a patient.
One news account said that Roberts was taken by private boat from his home to the mainland, and transported to Rockport by ambulance.
The word-smithing here is interesting. How can they be certain that it is benign when they don’t know what caused it (which is what idiopathic means). You could say that the result was benign since he suffered no serious affects…but that is not how conditions are usually defined medically. If I were in his shoes I’d be worried. It’s happened before. He’s lucky he didn’t fall off the dock and drown. Where will he be the next time it happens? And if they don’t know what causes it how can they be sure that it won’t get worse as the brain decays with age? Lots of questions here for court watchers to ponder.
Comment by Daniel Thomas — July 30, 2007 @ 7:34 pm
Agreed. Looks like some spinning is going on here.
Let’s all hope the CJ does fully recover and isn’t prone to this in the future.
Comment by steve jaros — July 30, 2007 @ 7:50 pm
I really think you guys are jumping to conclusions here that there is spinning going on. Keep in mind the last time he had one was in 1993, thats a long time.
After researching the Medical Journal’s these things do happen and sometimes found to be caused by hypogylcemia,among others. So lots of things can cause these.
I think most likely the Chief had a seizure like they’ve described and he’ll be back on the court of OT 07 just as sharp as he’s always been.
Comment by Phillip Edens — July 30, 2007 @ 9:42 pm
According to several news reports, “benign” is simply the accepted medical term for seizures like this one. Several doctors not connected with the case said that this is the accepted terminology, and it was not “wordsmithed” because Roberts is the patient.
Comment by Marc Shepherd — July 31, 2007 @ 8:49 am