appointed him first to the d.c. circuit and then to the supreme court. chief justice roberts was the youngest chief justice to assume the position since chief justice marshall over 200 years before. and when he was confirmed, he received the most votes, the most affirmative votes to confirm him ever in the history of the united states. he is married. his wife as a lawyer any has two children. we got to know them on television a few years ago. he is the perfect chief justice for the times, and it is my great pleasure and honor to present to you the chief justice of the united states. >> thank you, judge. mbeki very much. thank you all very much.

thank you. thank you very much. i am delighted to be here. thank you for that generous introduction. i do have to qualify a couple of the points. as far as by high school career, you do need to know that it was a very small high school. and as far as getting the most affirmative votes, there were many more seats when our confirmed in their work for so many other justices. thank you very much for your kind remarks. i have been very impressed by the student and faculty here and enjoy the opportunity to meet with them earlier today. i feel very privileged to deliver the 2010 lecture, auletta that has attracted so many of my colleagues as well as national juristic over the year. it is a step fitting tribute to

an individual whose inspired service and the federal judiciary for tw a decade. -- for two decades. he follows the steps of hugo black to serve with such distinction for over 34 years. just as black cassettes high stature that it is easy to forget that he was not the only alabama and to serve on the supreme court. our first justice was john kennedy, who practice law in alabama before serving on the court from 1838-1852. he served as circuit justice for the ninth circuit, which at that time consisted of alabama, mississippi, louisiana, and arkansas. things are different back then. justice mckinley was the most troubled of the justices in this era, logging about 10,000 miles a year writing the seventh

circuit, when travel was far more arduous than today. when justice mccann left the bench, justice john campbell was born in just -- georgia, and acquired a national reputation as an advocate. one of his biographers noted that when justice begin left the bench, the members of the supreme court unanimously urged franklin pierce to appoint campbell. the president probably fall of paradise. as i said earlier, things were different back then. justice campbell served on the court from 1853 until the civil war when he returned to alabama. after the war, he became a highly respected supreme court advocate. among other things, he served as lead counsel on several cases. alabama has the distinction of

not only providing the court with great jurist and advocates but also contributing in a more concrete way to the supreme court's physical structure. most every citizen has seen pictures of a truly magnificent supreme court building. as many of you already know, and you will be reminded if you take the supreme court to are, alabama sent much of the white marble in the interior. for many visitors, they assumed that we've decided in this beautiful building since the court came into being. not so. the court, though a separate and coequal branch, did not have a home of its own. the court moved there in 1935. this year marks the 75th

anniversary of the opening of our building. with that anniversary in mind, i would like to offer a few observations about the symbolic importance of this structure, built in part of alabama stone. at the time of the ratification of the constitution, the federal government had no buildings of its own. the government temporarily convened in new york city. president washington named 6 supreme court justices who were promptly confirmed. again, things were different back then. congress had already occupied new york city's federal all so the court selected quarters on the second floor of the mercantile exchange building. it is not far from the first meeting place in a shopping mall. on its opening day, february 1, 1790, the supreme court not only

lacked a permanent home but a quorum. because of poor travel conditions, only three of the six justices showed up. even after the court made up its quorum, they adjourn for the simple reason that they had no cases. the court met briefly in the exchange's building later that year, holding court for a total of 12 days. as you know, the constitution authorizes congress to determine the location of a district to serve as the permanent seat of the federal government. in 1790, another -- the number of states applied for the honor of founding that seed in their territory. many cities yet to be named. it was over the course of a

dinner in new york that thomas jefferson proposed a bargain in which the federal government assumed state were deaths while in return taking medicines preference for the capital but to be established along the potomac. jefferson's compromise was formalized and it also provided for philadelphia to service the nation's capital for 10 years. it placated the pennsylvania delegation and also gave the federal government time to build a capital city. the supreme court occupied temporary homes in philadelphia from 1791-until 1800. the court convened twice in the pennsylvania state house, now known as independence hall, and sometimes s -- an old city hall.

a capital city along the potomac emerged. the city planners of that era provided congress -- to advise congress that the landscape provided three locations for important public building. it was a happy coincidence that the new government had three branches. on the first, the rays that white house. the sec it was the capitol building. and on the third sight, congress build a permanent home for padlocked. -- patent law. one of the side jobs of the chief justice is to serve as the chancellor of the smithsonian institution. it now serves as the home of the national portrait gallery.

but as chief justice, i have to note that congress left the court without a home of its own. the absence of a permanent home in the early 19th century when the justices let outside washington and spent much of the year hearing cases as regional circuit judges. the justices turning to washington only twice each year to hear cases as a supreme court. but the supreme court still here to help -- still had to hear those cases somewhere. so in 18 01, the court met in temporary quarters within capitol building. and john marshall became chief justice, he promoted camaraderie and encourage the justices to all logic the same boarding house when they came to washington. -- to all largodge in the same

boarding house when they came to washington and discuss the cases when they came to dinner. he also noted that when faced with the particular vexing case on a clear night, chief justice marshall what sometimes look out the window and observed that the court's jurisdiction was national, so it must be raining somewhere. [laughter] the justices of john marshall's era did not seem bothered by the absence of a court building devoted to their court. jushe delivered his opinion in marbury v. madison -- and samuel chase, would not need to travel to the capitol building. before justices, they still needed a court room, and they went into a room on that don't floor.

but that did not last long when the british invaded washington during the war in 1812, they torched the capital and destroyed the justices court room. it took five years before the court resumed beat -- meeting in the basement chamber shown above. the court used its room, known as the old supreme court chamber, as its core room from 1819-1860. this is the court room word john mckinley and john campbell said as justices. it was very attractive. they had no robing room so they have to put their robes on when they ascend to the bench. the light in the room was quite dark. people joked that just it's needed no blindfold because no one could see anything anyway.

this is not consistent with the framers conception of the supreme court role under our constitution. the founding generation perceive that the court as a second -- separate and totally equal branch of government. there is no liberty of the power of justice be not separated from the legislative and jet -- and executive powers. that did not capture the role of the court that the framers had conceived and that chief justice marshall had established and marguerite. -- in margaret -- marbury. they naturally develop personal familiarity with the political figures and pressing issues of the day. it was not uncommon to see senators such as henry clay

walking down to the supreme court chambers and arguing cases. their virtues of familiarity, but there are vices as well. it may be too easy for a judge to forget his limited role in our constitution system. the courts physical location place them right in the midst of an expansion of slavery in the new territories. perhaps the close proximity to congress made them a participant to the political process and skewed them to the court's perspective. surrounded by elected representatives on the slavery question, they signaled that the court could conclusively settled

the matter. the result was that catastrophic decision and dred sc -- was the catastrophic decision in dred scott, which place the court in the middle of the public policy debate, tarnished the court's reputation, and only deepened the national divide. near the end of his tenure, the senate which had grown with the admission of new states moved into larger and more ornate chamber. chief justice taney save the fund this opportunity to move the court to the old senate chamber where remained until 1935. this is where louis brandeis and oliver wendell holmes served as associate justice and were john campbell appeared frequently as an advocate. the court room had several practical advantages over the old supreme court chamber.

it was larger, accommodating 100 members of the audience, and also had a separate robing room so that the justices were spirit from putting their robes on when they came to the bench. but the symbolic problem remained that the justices were mere tenants and home of another branch of government. as in the case of the old supreme court room, there was no room for the justices to have separate offices. the justices were relieved of the circuit riding responsibilities during this period, so they now alt resided in the washington area. but without office space in the capital, they worked at home and generally came to court only on argument and conference states. went have joined the supreme court as its 10th chief justice in 1921, he did not like this arrangement. he had served as president before he became chief justice.

before his presidency, he observed this from the perspective of a federal judge. shortly after his appointment as chief justice, he traveled to philadelphia, the early, the court. in researching this talk, i came upon them newspaper report of his visit which noted that the chief justice was "a claimed by a crowd." naturally i felt compelled to read further. it told how chief justice taft shad in the chair that chief justice j. had once occupied, a challenge for the chair. [laughter] and heard stories about the court's early session. they make comments that still ring true today. he pointed out that the character of the nation's judiciary reflects the character of its people and the capacity for self governance.

taft speaking from his experience as president observed, "a judiciary support meant reveals a subjection to arbitrary authority inconsistent with individual liberty. it must be made to follow popular clamor and the inconsistency of the mob indicates that people lacking the strength without which government is doomed to failure ." he continued, "beneficial role of the people cannot be obtained but through constitutions, it takes training and self control and an appreciation of patriotic leadership and a perception of the great importance of the welfare of the whole above faction.

a people must trust the high character experience, and learning but must -- but must not trust them too much." i think that the chief justice's words rightly earned him some cheers. he must have been thinking -- he had already taken steps to secure the supreme court of home of its own. a skilled politician who knew the ways of congress, he relentless lobbied senators and representatives for a separate supreme court building. his efforts paid off and in 1925 congress enacted a bill that provided that the court would have its own building. he also weighed and on the location of the building, pressing for a site directly east of the capital. it had a rich history. it had been the site of the

brick capital which congress temporarily occupied after the war of 1812 and a military prison for captured soldiers were housed during the civil war. he also may have been a location of a hotel. it may have been the hotel where chief justice marshall announced the decision in margaret v. madison. -- marbury v. madison. taft sought to it that he was appointed chair of the supreme court building commission and also chose gilbert as the architect who veadar be enlisted to begin planning the building. he was a champion of the neoclassical school design grid before his appointment, he had already done interior design

based on the interiors of greek and roman temples. this was shortly before the collapse of the stock market and the beginning of the great depression. congress nevertheless voted in december 1929 to appropriate $9.7 million to fund the construction. the put plans in money into place. he sadly died a few months later and did not see the fruition of the building, but a positive move forward under charles evans hughes prepared the cornerstone and the december 1932 the construction began in earnest. gilbert was able to employ at the nation's finest sculptures in the construction process, including james earl frazier and robert taken.

and he insisted on using the finest materials. the building was completed in 1935, and only a few months after the targeted completion date. and it came in under budget. the court returned $95,532.20 of the original appropriation to the treasury. it is one of the most riveting structures in washington. stately answer ring, simple get rich with federal symbolism, gilbert selected several design elements that made the building truly this thing. he chose as the exterior construction material the imperial marble from vermont which was stunningly looming as -- luminesce in sunlight.

he employed high ceilings for detail in the public spaces to convey the gravity of the court's work. now for some, the court was simply too grand. some and likened it to the car -- to the temple at karnak and suggested that justice is right in on the backs of the elephants. a number came to the court only four arguments. as a result, when hugo black spoke to the court in 1937, he was able to select a choice corner office suite even though he was the most junior justice. but it was skillfully executed by tap and was not to create a building for the comfort of the occupants but to establish a home for the court that would convey to the nation and the world the vitally important and distinct role in the supreme court under our system of separated powers.

as the white house search for the residence of president, and the congress in its legislative body, the supreme court is fundamentally a tribunal will issues of adjourning importance are decided for impartial application of balal. it expresses thoughtful deliberation. that process steps set apart from political activity that takes across -- that takes place across the street in the capital. justice harold burton, who served in congress before georgia -- serving the court, said, if you have ever gone to the length of a circus into a monastery? burton overstated the matter. but that congress and the court

are certainly engaged in very different activities. the supreme court building is full of symbolism and expresses that difference, rich with images that could fill all lengthy book. consider the symbols in the court room that the justices see from the bench when they sit at their places. our intentions are on the advocates before us and their arguments. it can include in the jump -- some distinguished guests. we always welcome these visitors to our home with respect, but cass gilbert has created above the crowd, a vivid reminder of our obligation as judges. along the north and south sailing, carved by someone in spanish marble, the positive

virtues of the law. a progression of lawgivers such as lincoln and confucius, blackstone, and john marshall. they remind us that an exercise in judgment, not deciding disputes with litigants, but the long view that will sustain future generations. judges with the special privileges of life tenure, we must have faith in the enduring principles and not what is currently popular or politically expedient. to reinforce the reminder, gilbert installed on the west wall directly facing us the allegorical battle between good and evil, with justices went by wisdom standing between combatants. that reminds us that we cannot

take the freedoms that we enjoy as americans for granted. the secure freedoms only because we're vigilant in maintaining the framers vision of a nation founded under the rule we are now in the process of completing a renovation of the supreme court building which will preserve its timeless design while updating its electrical and mechanical systems. we expect to completed by the time the court convenes in october 2010. i am happy to report that we're following past president and expect to meet the project under budget. it is a magnificent building that we are privileged to occupy. it helps remind the nation in the world of the importance of the rule of law and upholding lawyers -- of holding justice. in that sense, is very significance that the united kingdom recently chose to follow

the example in reorganizing the judicial system. it is reconstituted its highest judicial party which had been the house of lords under parliament has a separate judicial entity, the supreme court of the united kingdom. our notion of the separation of powers has taken a firmer root and not surprisingly, the united kingdom also took the step of relocating the court out of the parliament to rebuilding of its own. we should be proud that the united states' success helped inspired that change. to mark the occasion, i presented to the lord chief justice of the united kingdom as a symbolic of it, a piece of alabama marble taken from the interior of our building.

let me read the inscription. i need a little help to read. on one side, presented on the occasion of the establishment of the court by the supreme court of the united states, october 16, 2009. and on the other side, this marble was quarried in alabama and installed in the supreme court of the united states as part of the original interior construction of the building which opened in 1935. the marble is presented as a symbol of a shared heritage and endured bonds of friendship between the supreme court of the united states and the supreme court of the united kingdom. that little bit of alabama help spread american ideals around the world. thank you very much for your

kind attention in your grace is hot -- gracious hospitality. thank you. >> chief justice roberts, that was a wonderful culture. we appreciate it. the chief justice has agreed to take questions. the call on those you who have a question. we like questions from students especially. particularly for the upperclassman, he is ready to hear your questions. >> make sure it is not a question on architecture. i have exhausted my knowledge.