Chief Justice Roberts Taken To Hospital After Fall (Update 4) (NY Times Says the "E" Word)

Update:  I just heard on NPR that they are now admitting that today's fall was the result of a seizure. 

So now it is safe to say he does have a "known" condition, I guess.

Update 2:  LA Times mentions the seizure and their writing makes it a little suspicious that Roberts hasn't reported any others between January '93 and today.  But then John Roberts seems to be very good at keeping secrets. 

Update 3:  I forgot to include the link to the earlier LA Times article, but rest assured the Times has regained it's faith and can blithely dance around a lack of real diagnosis for underlying cause to either seizure. It's amazingly like someone from the Bush administration called them up and 'splain things to them.  Which would be ludicrous, if we didn't know that's exactly the kind of thing that happens.

The new, fully trusting LA Times report is well summarized by the article's subtitle: "Neurological testing reveals no cause for concern and he's 'fully recovered.' The cause remains unknown. " 

In the piece author David Savage reports:

Roberts suffered a similar seizure in 1993, the court confirmed. For several months afterward, he did not drive but instead took a bus or carpooled with a friend to work in downtown Washington.

A seizure is caused by "excessive electrical activity in the brain," according to Medline Plus, an online medical encyclopedia by the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine.

Some seizures are focused on one part of the brain or one side of the body; others are classified as generalized, meaning the whole body is affected.

Not all seizures cause an individual to lose consciousness or experience convulsions.

Roberts "was conscious and alert" while being transported after Monday's incident, the local fire chief, Tim Polky, told the Associated Press.

Two medical experts in Los Angeles said the seizure was not likely to limit Roberts' ability to work on the court.

Why would we think it would?  Roberts is basically just following the neocon line.  I don't think you need a brain for that.

Just about everyone is at some risk of a seizure, said Dr. Marc Nuwer, an expert in seizure disorders at UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine.

In an adult, a seizure can be triggered by a variety of factors, including sleep deprivation, stress, alcohol consumption or certain medications.

Or the site of a really good looking feller out on the lake. (I told you Roberts was good at keeping secrets.) 

Update 4:  The New York Times report includes a quote from a doctor diagnosing Roberts with "epilepsy".

Dr. John W. Miller, a professor of neurology and director of the University of Washington’s regional epilepsy center in Seattle, said that anyone who had more than one seizure, no matter how many years apart, should be classified as having epilepsy.

See how easy that is Mr. Savage? 

Now back to original post: 

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts has been given a "precautionary" trip to the hospital after a fall in his summer home on Hupper Island in Maine.

A CNN report says Roberts, who is 52, has no known medical conditions (known by whom?) and is currently the youngest serving Justice. 

It also mentions that Roberts suffered a seizure in 1993 while fighting for a position on the DC Appellate Court, which friends attribute to 'stress'.  

Really the question is known to whom?  I'm guessing given the 1993 incident that there is something that is not known to the press, but it's there.

The fact that he was only a judge for 3 years should have kept him off the Supreme Court in the first place. 

 The CNN report says that friends attribute the earlier seizure to stress.  Hey, Mr. R., can you imagine the stress that middle class people and the poor, not to mention our troops face every day.  Do you think you can wrap your affluent mind around that?  Maybe that will help you keep on your feet.

Then again Arlen Specter (according to a report at The Politico "Specter to probe Supreme Court decisions ") says he: 

plans to review the Senate testimony of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel A. Alito to determine if their reversal of several long-standing opinions conflicts with promises they made to senators to win confirmation.

Specter, who championed their confirmation, said Tuesday he will personally re-examine the testimony to see if their actions in court match what they told the Senate.

"There are things he has said, and I want to see how well he has complied with it," Specter said, singling out Roberts.

tags: john roberts  supreme court  

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